S I li Y A : 

O E, 

A DISCOURSE OF FOREST-TREES, 

AND THE 

PROPAGATION OF TIMBER 

IN HIS MAJESTY'S DOMINIONS ; 
AS IT WAS DELIVERED 
IN THE EOYAL SOCIETY, ON OCTOBER XV. MDCLXII. 
UPON OCCASION OF CERTAIN QUERIES 
PROPOUNDED TO THAT ILLUSTRIOUS ASSEMBLY, 

BY THE HON. THE 

PRINCIPAL OFFICERS AND COMMISSIONERS OF THE NAVY. 

TOGETHER WITH AN 

fgfetorital Account of tje ^acrcttnegs an» Wl^t at 
STANDING GROVES. 

TO WHICH IS ADDED 

THE TERRA: 

A PHILOSOPHICAL DISCOURSE OF EARTH. 



BY JOHN EVELYN, Esa. F. R. S. 
WITH NOTES, BY A. HUNTER, M.D. F.R.S. L.&E. 

THE FIFTH EDITION, 

WITH THE editor's LAST CORRECTIONS. 

IN TWO VOLUMES. 
VOL. I. 

LONDON: 
HENRY COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 

MDCCCXXV. 



TO THE MEMORY 
OF 

JOHN EVELYN ESQUIRE 

A MAN OF GREAT LEARNING SOUND JUDGMENT 

AND 

MOST EXTENSIVE BENEVOLENCE. 
FROM AN EARLY ENTRANCE INTO PUBLIC LIFE 

TO AN EXTREME OLD AGE 
HE CONSIDERED HIMSELF AS LIVING ONLY FOR 
THE BENEFIT OF MANKIND. 

READER 

DO JUSTICE TO THIS ILLUSTRIOUS 
CHARACTER 
AND BE CONFIDENT 
^HAT AS LONG AS THERE REMAINS A PAGE OF 
HIS NUMEROUS WRITINGS 
AND 

AS LONG AS VIRTUE AND SCIENCE HOLD 
THEIE ABODE IN THIS ISLAND 
HIS MEMORY WILL BE HELD IN THE UTMOST 

VENERATION. 



B 



r 



t 



THE 

EDITOR'S PHEFACE 

TO THE FIRST EDITION, 



It may iappear a matter of singularity that a person of my profession 
should engage in a work which, it must be confessed, has but a small 
alliance with Medicine. But I wish to have it known, that, during the 
whole time this edition was under my hands, I considered it only as 
affording amusement, and relaxation from studies of a severer kind. To 
liberal minds this will be a sufficient apology : To persons of a different 
turn I have nothing to observe. Tacitus says, Adutilitatem vitce omnia 
facta consiliaque nostra sunt dirigenda : and I could produce proofs of 

the highest authority to confirm this excellent sentiment ; -but an age 

eager in pursuit of natural knowledge needs no incitements. 

The expense attending this work would have deterred me from the 
prosecution of it almost as soon as begun, had it not been for a most 
distinguished Patronage, under whose recommendation the Subscription 
filled beyond my most sanguine expectations. 

Since the first edition of the SUva, in 1664, many improvements have 
been made in planting, and in every branch of natural knowledge. It, 
therefore, became my indispensable duty to bring down the improvements 
to the present time. These make the subject of the Notes, which are 
drawn from the most respectable authorities. I assume no merit beyond 
the arrangement of the materials, having in all places preserved the 
Author's own words, excepting in cases where the sense was obscured by 
an impropriety of expression. To join the language of so n^any different 

B 2 



8 THE EDITOR'S PREFACE. 

writers, so as to appear with the uniformity of one author, required 
at first a considerable degree of attention ; but the composition grew 
easy in proportion as the subject became famihar. To the following 
Authors I stand particularly indebted : Sir Charles Linnaeus, the 
Rev. Dr. Stephen Hales, the Rev. Mr. Hart, Mr. Bradley, the Rev. Mr. 
Hanbury, Mr. P. Millar, Mons. Duhamel, INIons. Buffon, the Abbe 
Shabol, and Professor Kalm ; and I make this public acknowledgment 
to avoid the charge of plagiarism. The Philosophical Transactions of 
London^ have, in many instances, been of singular service to me ; and I 
have had frequent occasion to introduce extracts from my own Georgical 
Essays. I also acknowledge to have received much assistance from 
James Farquharson, Esq. whose excellent Memoir upon the Cultivation 
of the Scotch Pine is inserted in the twenty-second chapter of the first 
book, 

Mr. Speechly, gardener to his Grace the Duke of Portland, by his 
Grace's orders, transmitted to me the account published in the first 
volume, describing the method of planting upon his Grace's estates in 
Nottinghamshire ; and I have great satisfaction in being authorised to 
say, that this most excellent Planter has his Grace's permission to direct 
gentlemen in the manner of forming plantationsr — -for which he is well 
qualified in all the varieties of soil and situation. From the same judi- 
cious person I am favoured with the Note inserted at the end of the third, 
chapter of the third book, describing a method of raising the pine apple. 
without the use of tanner's bark.. 

I wish to be known to have received favours from Joseph Banks, Esq. 
whose desire after natural knowledge is not confined within the limits of 
the habitable world. * 



* Vide A Voyage towards the North Pole, undertaken by the Hon, Capt. Phipps, in th^ 
year 1773. Introduction, p. 12. 



THE EDITOR'S PREFACE. 9 

His Grace the Duke of Portland lays me under the greatest obligation, 
by presenting this work with two most elegant views of the greendale 
OAK. Mr. Grimm's delineation of this venerable Tree deserves the 
highest encomiums ; and I have great satisfaction in acknowledging the 
merits of Messrs. Rooker and Vivares, whose Engravings have done it all 
imaginable justice. Each View has its Skeleton annexed, that the excel- 
lence of the workmanship might not be injured by the Table of Mensu- 
ration. Mr. John Miller has shown great elegance and correctness in 
his department as a draughtsman and engraver ; and I am singularly 
obliged to Mr. Bartolozzi for the fine head of Mr. Evelyn, which stands 
an unrivalled monument of his excellence as an Artist. 

I beg leave to present my warmest acknowledgments to Sir John, 
Russel, Bart, and to Thomas Frankland, Esq. for their friendly care in 
overlooking the artists in their different departments. Without their 
assistance the plates would hg^ve been less worthy of the public appro- 
bation. 

I esteem myself greatly indebted to my most excellent and learned 
friend the Rev. Mr. Cappe, for his kind assistance in the elucidation of 
several obscure passages and corruptions of the Text. 

Having explained my motives for undertaking this design, and acknow- 
ledged my obligations where due, either for civility or information, I 
have nothing left but to observe, that the liberties I have taken with the 
Text, in a variety of places, are warranted from a careful collation of the 
five editions with some Original Manuscripts, without which J could 
not possibly have proceeded with any degree of satisfaction : for of all the 
books in the English language, there are, perhaps, none so incorrect as 
the two last editions of the Silva : The one printed in 1704) ; the other 
in 1729. 



10 THE EDITOR'S PREFACE. 

Soon after publication of the Silva, which made its appearance in 
1664, under the auspices of the Royal Society, the spirit for planting 
increased to a high degree ; and there is reason to believe that many of 
our ships which, in the last war, gave laws to the whole world, were 
constructed from Oaks planted at that time. The present age must re- 
flect upon this with gratitude ; and it is to be hoped that we shall be am- 
bitious to receive from Posterity the same acknowledgments that we, at 
this moment, pay to the memory of our virtuous Ancestors. 

A. HUNTER. 

YouK, August 1, 1776. 



A MEMOIR 

OF 

THE LIFE OF 
ALEXANDER HUNTER, M. D. 

The Doctor was bom at Edinburgh in the year 1733. His father 
was an eminent druggist in that city, and being possessed of about 
two hundred pounds a-year in houses, independent of his business, he 
was enabled to give his children a very liberal education. His eldest son, 
Alexander, was placed at the grammar-school when he was about 
ten years of age, and having passed through all the forms, he was entered 
in his fifteenth at the University, which he quitted at twenty-one, 
having for the last three years made medicine his principal study. On 
finishing his classical, philosophical, and medical education at Edinburgh, 
he went to London, with a view to improve himself in the line of his 
profession. There he continued one winter, after which he proceeded 
to Rouen in Normandy, placing himself under the care of Monsieur 
Le Cat, in order to perfect himself in Anatomy, to which science he 
was strongly a,ttached, After spending half a year at Rouen, he was 
eight months at Paris, under the direction of the celebrated physician 
and anatomist Dr. Petit. Returning to London, he remained there a 
short time, in expectation of being engaged by Dr. Hunter as an assistant 
in his anatomical school. In this expectation he did not succeed, so that 
he determined to go to Edinburgh, with a view to take a degree in medi- 
cine, and settle there. The former resolution he accomplished with 
credit to himself, but, for family reasons, he relinquished the latter, pur- 
posing to reside in England, a country to which he was always partial. 
On this plan he consulted Mr. Winn, an eminent surgeon in Leeds, 
and a particular friend of his father's, by whom he was advised to fix 
at Gainsborough, in Lincolnshire ; but this situation not equalling his 
wishes, he removed, after a stay of a few months, to Beverley, where 
there was a vacancy occasioned by the demise of the only resident 
physician. From this place, in the year 1763, he was invited to York, 
on the decease of Dr. Perrot, and there he enjoyed a most extensive 
practice till his death, which happened the 17th of May, 1809. 



12 



A INIEMOIR OF A. HUNTER, M. D. 



The Doctor being possessed of* an active and liberal mind, considered 
himself as not only engaged to benefit those with whom he lived, but 
also to do something for posterity. Accordingly, in the year 1764, he 
published an " Essay on the Nature and Virtues of the Buxton Waters." 
This little Tract was very favourably received. In 1770, he was instru- 
mental in establishing an Agricultural Society at York ; and to give re* 
spectability to the institution, he prevailed on the members to reduce 
their thoughts and observations into writing. These he arranged and 
published under the title of " Georgical Essays." They obtained for 
the Society a considerable degree of celebrity. In 1772, he success- 
fully projected a plan of a Lunatic Asylum at York, and at the end of 
five years, the building was opened for the reception of patients. In the 
prosecution of this scheme he took unwearied pains, and he had the 
satisfaction of living many years, to see it answer the humane and charit- 
able intentions of its promoters. In 1777, he was elected a Member of 
the Royal Society in London, and in the same year he published a new 
edition of Evelyn's Silva, with Notes, and Engravings of all the Forest 
Trees mentioned in that Book. The first edition being sold off, the 
Doctor published a second in 1786, with additional Notes, and a third 
in 1801, to which he subjoined the Terra of the same author ; from this 
work he acquired much reputation as a geoponic writer. Since his 
decease, a Fourth Edition was published (in 1812) by the writer of 
this short Memoir, under whose inspection the present edition has 
also been printed. 

In 1790, he was elected a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh | 
and a few years afterwards he was distinguished by being chosen, without 
solicitation, an honorary Member of the Board of Agriculture, 

In 1765, he married Elizabeth, one of the coheiresses of William 
Dealtry, Esq. of Gainsborough, in the county of Lincoln, by whom he 
had three children, two sons and one daughter ; all these he survived : 
and in 1799, married Annej the daughter of Richard Bell, Esq. of 
Welton, near Hull, who died October 26, 1814, leaving no issue. 

York, June, 1825* 



THE LIFE 

0 P 

Mr. JOHN EVELYN. 



John EVELYIC', the Author of this most excellent and laborious 
work, was born at Wotton in Surrey, the seat of his father Richard 
Evelyn, Esq. upon the 31st of October, 1620. He was descended from 
a very ancient and honourable family, which flourished originally in 
Shropshire ; and Was first settled at Wotton, in the reign of Queen 
Elizabethk He was instructed in grammar and classical learning at the 
free-school at Lewes in Sussex, from whence, in the year 1637, he was 
removed, and entered as a Gentleman-Commoner at Baliol College in 
Oxford. He remained there about three years, prosecuting his acade- 
mical studies with great diligence ; and then removed to the INIiddle- 
Temple in London, in order to add a competent knowledge of the laws 
of his country to his philological and philosophical act[uisitions. Upon 
the breaking out of the Civil War, he repaired to Oxford ; where he 
obtained leave from King Charles I. under his own hand, to travel 
into foreign countries for the completion of his education. In the spring 
of 1644 he left England, in order to make the tour of Europe ; which 
he performed Very successfully, making it his business to inquire carefully 
into the state of the sciences, and the improvements made in all useful 
arts, wherever he came. He spent some time at Rome, and happened 
to be there at the time of Laud's death> which gave him an opportunity 
of vindicating, in some measure, the memory of that honest, but rash 
and zealous man. " I was at Rome,'* says Mr. Evelyn, " in the com- 
" pany of divers of the English fathers, when the news of the Arch- 
" bishop's sufferings, and a copy of his sermon made upon the scaffold, 
" came thither. They read the sermon, and commented upon it, with 

C 



14 



THE LIFE OF 



" no small satisfaction and contempt ; and looked on him as one that 
" was a great enemy to them, and stood in their way, while one of the 
" blackest crimes, imputed to him, was his being popishly affected." 

Mr. Evelyn visited also other parts of Italy, for the sake of improv- 
ing himself in architecture, painting, the knowledge of antiquities, me- 
dals, &c. His early affection to, and skill in the fine arts, appeared du- 
ring his travels ; for we find, that he delineated on the spot, the prospects 
of several remarkable places that lie betwixt Rome and Naples : more 
particularly, " The Three Taverns, or the Forum of Appius," mentioned 
in the Acts of the Apostles ; " The Promontory of Anxur ; a Prospect of 
" Naples from Mount Vesuvius ; a Prospect of Vesuvius, as it appears 
" towards Naples ; the Mouth of Mount Vesuvius ;" all which were en- 
graved from our Author's sketches by Hoare, an eminent artist at that 
time. He returned to Paris in the year 1647; where being recom- 
mended to Sir Richard Browne, Bart, the King's Minister there, he 
made his addresses to his only daughter Mary, whom he soon after mar- 
ried, and by whom he became possessed of Sayes-Court, near Deptford in 
Kent, where he resided after his return to England, which was about 
the year 1651. Some time before this he had commenced author ; and 
the following pieces seem to be the first productions of his pen : — 

1. " Liberty and Servitude." 1649, 12mo. Translated from the French. 

2. " A Character of England, as it was lately presented in a letter to a 
" Nobleman of France, with Reflections on Gallus Castratus." 1651, 
l6mo. The third edition of this book appeared in 1659 ; at present it 
is very scarce. — 3. " The State of France." 1652, 8vo. — 4. " An Essay 
" on the first Book of Lucretius, interpreted and made into English 
" Verse." 1656, 8vo. This translation was decorated with a frontis- 
piece, designed by his ingenious lady ; with a panegyrical copy of verses 
by INlr. Waller, prefixed to it. — 5. " The French Gardener ; instructing 
" how to cultivate all sorts of fruit-trees and herbs for the garden." 1658, 
and several times after. In most of the editions is added, " The English 
" Gardener vindicated, by John Rose, gardener to King Charles II. with 
" a tract of the makins; and ordering; of Wines in France." The third 
edition of the "French Gardener," which came out in 1676, was illus- 
trated with copperplates. — 6. " The Golden Book of St. Chrysostom, 
" concerning the Education of Children." 165 9, 12mo. 



MR. JOHN EVELYN. 



15 



The situation of public affairs induced Mr. Evelyn to live very retired 
at Sayes-Court ; and so fond was he of this rural retreat, that he seemed 
determined to enjoy retirement for life. This studious disposition, 
together with his disgust of the world, occasioned by the violence and 
confusion of the times, was so strong, that he actually proposed to Mr. 
Boyle the raising a kind of college for the reception of persons of the 
same turn of mind ; where they might enjoy the pleasures of society, and 
at the same time pass their days without care or interruption. His letter 
to Mr. Boyle, in which the following plan of a college is contained, is 
dated the third of September, 1659, and exhibits an agreeable portrait of 
his philosophic and contemplative mind. 

" 1 propose the purchasing of thirty or forty acres of land, in some 
" healthy place, not above twenty-five miles from London ; of which a 
" good part should be tall Wood, and the rest up-land pastures, or downs 
" sweetly irrigated. If there were not already a house, which might be 
" converted, &c. we would erect, upon the most convenient site of this, 
" near the wood, our building, viz. one handsome pavilion, containing a 
" refectory, library j, withdrawing-room, and a closet ; this the first story : 
" For we suppose the kitchen, larders, cellars, and offices, to be contrived 
" in the half-stoly under ground. In the second should be a fair lodging- 
" chamber, ia pallet-room, a gallery, and a closet ; all which should be 
" well and very nobly furnished, for any worthy person that might desire 
" to stay any time, and for the reputation of the college : The half-story 
" above for servants, wardrobes, and like conveniences. To the entry 
*' fore-front of this court, and at the other back-front, a plot walled in, of 
" a competent square for the common seraglio, disposed into a garden ; 
" or it might be only carpet, kept curiously, and to serve for bowls, 
" walking, or other recreations, &c. if the company please. Opposite to 
" the house, towards the wood, should be erected a pretty chapel ; and, 
" at equal distances, even within the flanking walls of the square, six 
" apartments or cells for the members of the society, and not contiguous 
" to the pavilion ; each whereof should contain a small bed-chamber, an 
" outward room, a closet, and a private garden, somewhat after the 

manner of the Carthusians. There should likewise be an elaboratory, 
" with a repository for rarities and things of Nature : an aviary, dove- 
" house, physic-garden, kitchen-garden, and a plantation of orchard- 

C2 



16 



THE LIFE OF 



^' fruit, &c. all uniform buildings, but of single stories, or a little elevated. 
" At convenient distance, towards the olitory-garden, should be a stable 
" for two or three horses, and a lodging for a servant or two. Lastly, 
" a garden-house, and conservatory for tender plants. The estimate 
" amounts thus : the pavilion, four hundred pounds ; the chapel, one 
*' hundred and fifty pounds ; apartments, walls, and out-housing, six 
" hundred pounds ; the purchase of the fee for thirty acres, at fifteen 
" pounds per acre, eighteen years purchase, four hundred pounds. The 
" total, fifteen hundred and fifty pounds : sixteen hundred pounds will 
" be the utmost. Three of the cells or apartments, that is, one moiety, 
" with the appurtenances, shall be at the disposal of one of the founders, 
« and the other half at the other's. If I and my wife take up two 
" apartments, (for we are to be decently asunder however I stipulate, 
" and her inclination will greatly suit with it) that shall be no impedi- 
" ment to the society, but a considerable advantage to the oeconomic 
" part : a third shall be for some worthy person. And, to facihtate the 
" rest, I offer to furnish the whole pavilion completely, to the value of 
« five hundred pounds, in goods and moveables, if need be, for seven 
" years, till there shall be a public stock. There shall be maintained 
" at the public charge, only a chaplain well qualified ; an ancient woman 
" to dress the meat, wash, and do all such ofl&ces ; a man to buy provi- 
" sions, keep the garden, horses, &;c. a boy to assist him and serve 
« within. At one meal a-day, of two dishes only, unless some little 
" extraordinary upon particular days or occasions, (then never exceeding 
" three,) of plain and wholesome meat ; a small refection at night ; wine, 
" beer, sugar, spice, bread, fish, fowl, candles, soap, oats, hay, fuel, kc. 
" at four pounds per week ; two hundred pounds per annum : wages 
" fifteen pounds ; keeping the gardens, twenty pounds ; the chaplain, 
" twenty pounds per annum. Laid up in the treasury one hundred and 
" forty-five pounds, to be employed for books, instruments, drugs, 
" trials, &c. The total four hundred pounds a-year, comprehending the 
" keeping of two horses for the chariot or the saddle, and two kine. So 
" that two hundred pounds per annum will be the utmost that the founders 
" shall be at to maintain the whole society, consisting of nine persons, 
" (the servants included,) though there should no others join, capable to 
" alleviate the expense. But if any of those who desire to be of the 
" society be so well qualified as to support their own particulars, and 
" allow for their proportion, it will yet much diminish the charge : and 



MR. JOHN EVELYN. 17 

" of such there cannot want some at all times, as the apartments are 
" empty. If either of the founders think expedient to alter his condition, 
" or that any thing do humanitus contingere, he may resign to 
" another, or sell to his colleague ; and dispose of it as he pleases, yet 
" so as it still continue the institution. Orders At six in summer, 
*' prayers in the chapel. To study till half an hour after eleven. Din- 
" ner in the refectory, till one. Retire till four. Then call to conver- 
" sation (if the weather invite) abroad, else in the refectory. This never 
" omitted but in case of sickness. Prayers at seven. To bed at nine. 
*• In the winter the same, with some abatements for the hours, because 
" the nights are tedious, and the evenings' conversation more agreeable. 
" This in the refectory. All play interdicted, sans bowls, chess, &c. 
" Every one to cultivate his own garden. One month in spring, a course 
" in the elaboratory on vegetables, &c. In the winter, a month on other 
" experiments. Every man to have a key of the elaboratory, pavilion, 
" library, repository, &c. Weekly fast. Communion once every fort- 
" night, or month at least. No stranger easily admitted to visit any of 
" the society but upon certain days weekly, and that only after dinner. 
" Any of the society may have his commons to his apartment, if he will 
" not meet in the refectory, so it be not above twice a week. Every 
*' Thursday shall be a music-meeting at conversation hours. Every per- 
" son of the society shall render some public account of his studies 
weekly, if thought fit ; and, especially, shall be recommended the 
"promotion of experimental knowledge, as the principal end of the 
" institution. There shall be a decent habit and uniform used in the 
" college. One month in the year may be spent in London or any of 
" the Universities, or in a perambulation for the public benefit, with what 
'■' other orders shall be thought convenient." Boyle's Works, vol. II. 

The moment that a prospect appeared of the King's restoration, our 
Author quitted philosophy for politics ; and, upon an attempt being 
made to damp the desires of the people for the King's return, he drew 
his pen in that critical and important season, in defence of the Royal 
Person and Cause. The title of his piece was : 7. " An Apology for the 
*' Royal Party, written in a Letter to a Person of the late Council of State; 
" with a Touch at the pretended Plea of the Army." 1659, 4to. This 
pamphlet had a good effect, and was generally so well received, that it 



18 



THE LIFE OF 



ran through three impressions that year. Soon after came out a piece, 
entitled, " News from Brussels, in a Letter from a near attendant on his 
" JNIajesty's Person, to a person of honour here, dated March 10, 1659." 
The design of this pretended letter was to represent the character of 
King Charles II. in as bad a light as possible ; and intended to destroy 
the impression which had been propagated to his advantage. All the 
King's friends were extremely alarmed at this attempt, and Mr. Evelyn 
as much as any of them ; who, to furnish an antidote to this poison with 
all possible speed, sent abroad, in a week's time, a complete answer, 
which bore the following title ; 8. " The late News or Message from 
" Brussels unmasked." 1659^ 4to. 

Immediately after the King's return, Mr. Evelyn was introduced to, 
and graciously received by him ; nor was it long before he received a 
very singular mark of the King's esteem and confidence ; for he was 
chosen by his Majesty to draw up "A Narrative of a Dispute and Quarrel 
" for Precedence, which happened between the Spanish and French Am- 
" bassadors," and which would have occasioned a war between those 
nations, if the King of Spain, though he gained the better in the present 
scuffle, had not agreed to yield precedence to the French upon all future 
occasions, without any dispute. Mr. Evelyn began now to enter into the 
active scenes of life, but yet without bidding adieu to his studies ; on 
the contrary, he published, in the space of a few months, no less than 
four pieces : as, 9. " A Panegyric at his Majesty King Charles the 
*' Second's Coronation." 1661, folioi — 10. " Instructions concerning the 
" erecting of a Library, translated from the French of Gabriel Naude, 
« with some improvements by himself." 1661, 8vo.— 11. " Fumifugium; 
" or the inconveniences of the air and the smoke of London dissipated, 
" together with some remedies humbly proposed." 1661, 4to. This was 
addressed to the King and Parliament, and published by his Majesty's 
express command.-^12. Tyrannus ; or the Mode : in a Discourse of 
"sumptuary Laws." 1661, Svo. In the year 1662, when the Royal 
Society was established, Mr. Evelyn was appointed one of the first Fellows 
and of the Council. He had given a proof the same year, how well he 
deserved that distinction, by a small but excellent work, entitled, 
13. " Sculptura ; or the History and Art of Chalcography and Engraving 
" in Copper, with an ample enumeration of the most renowned Masters 



MR. JOHN EVELYN. 



19 



" and their Works : to which is annexed, a new manner of Engraving, or 
"Mezzotinto, communicated by his Highness Prince Rupert to the 
" Author of this Treatise." 1662, 12mo. A second edition of this work, 
which was become exceedingly scarce and dear, was printed in 1755, 
12mo ; "containing some corrections and additions taken from the margin 
" of the Author's printed copy, an etching of his head, an exact copy 
" of the mezzotinto done by Prince Rupert, a translation of all the Greek 
" and Latin passages, and memoirs of the Author's life." 

Upon the first appearance of the nation's being obliged to engage in a 
war with the Dutch, the King thought proper to appoint Commissioners 
to take care of the sick and wounded ; and Mr. Evelyn was one of the 
number, having all the ports between Dover and Portsmouth for his dis- 
trict. This was in 1664 ; within the compass of which year his literary 
labours were not only as great, but even greater, than in any of those 
preceding. This arose from his earnest desire to support the credit of 
the Royal Society ; and to convince the world, that philosophy was not 
barely an amusement, fit only to employ the time of melancholy and 
speculative people, but an high and useful science, worthy the attention 
of men of the greatest parts, and capable of contributing in a supreme 
degree to the welfare of the nation. With this view he published, 14.. 
" Silva ; or a Discourse of Forest-Trees, and the propagation of Timber in 
"his Majesty's dominions. To which is annexed, Pomona: or, an 
"Appendix concerning Fruit-Trees, in relation to Cyder; the making and 
"several ways of ordering it." 1664, folio. This most valuable work 
was written at the request of the Royal Society, " upon occasion," as 
the title tells us, " of certain queries propounded to that illustrious 
" assembly, by the Honourable the principal Officers and Commissioners 
" of the Navy ;" and published by their order. It has undergone several 
editions ; a second in 1669 ; a third in 1679, with great additions and 
improvements ; a fourth in 1705, still considerably augmented ; and a 
fifth in 1729, with all the lesser pieces of our Author relating to Agri- 
culture and Gardening annexed, as they were in the fourth. But these 
two last editions are extremely incorrect. 

As a diligent perusal of this last useful treatise may animate our No- 
bility and Gentry to improve their estates by the never-failing methods 



20 



THE LIFE OV 



there recommendedj so an attentive study of our Autlior's next Avork 
may perhaps contribute to improve their taste in building. It is entitled, 

15. "A Parallel of the ancient Architecture with the modern, in a col- 
" lection of ten principal AuthorSj who have written upon the five 
" orders, viz. Palladio and Scamozzij Gerlio and Vignolaj D. Barbaro 
" and Cataneo, L. B. Alberti and Viola, BuUart and De Lorme, com- 
" pared with one another; The three orders, Doricj Ionic, and Corinthian, 
" comprise the first part of this treatise ; and the two Latin, Tuscan and 
« Composite, the latter. Written in French by Rowland Freart, Sieur de 
« Cambray ; made English for the benefit of Builders. To which is 
" added, an account of Architects and Architecture, in an historical and 
"etymological explanation of certain terms, particularly affected by 
"Architects. With Leo Babtista Alberti's treatise of Statues." 1664, 
folio. This work, as well as the former, is dedicated to King Charles II. 
A second edition of it was published in 1669 ; a third in 1697 ; and a 
fourth in 1733, to which is annexed " The Elements of Architecture, 
" collected by Sir Henry Wotton, and also other large additions." — 

16. Mvr^giov rrii Awpa; : " That is, Another part of the Mystery of Jesuitism ; 
or the new Heresy of the Jesuits, publicly maintained at Paris in the 

" college of Clermont, the; 12th of December, 1661, declared to all the 
" Bishops of France, according to the copy printed at Paris ; together 
" with the imaginary Heresy, in three Letters ; with divers other parti- 
Culars relating to this abominable JMystery, never before published in 
" English." i664, 8vo. This is the only piece of a controversial turn 
among Mr. Evelyn's works. It has not indeed his name to it : but that 
it is really his, we learn from a letter written by him to Mr. Boyle. — 

17. " Kalendarium Hortense ; or the Gardener's Almanac, directing what 
" he is to do monthly throughout the year, and what fruits and flowers are 
" in prime." 1664, 8vo. The second edition of this book was dedicated 
to Mr. Cowley, with whom our Author maintained a long and inviolable 
friendship ; and it occasioned Mr. Cowley to address to him his mixt 
essay in prose and verse, entitled "The Garden." The Kalendarium 
Hortense went throtigh a vast number of editions. The Author made 
additions to it as long as he lived, So that the best is that which was 
printed by way of appendix to the fourth and last edition of the Silva, in 
his life-time ; it is also in the fifth edition of that Work printed after his 
decease. 



MR. JOHN EVELYN. 



21 



About this time the University of Oxford received a noble and lasting 
testimony of Mr. Evelyn's gratitude to the place of his education ; for it 
was he who prevailed with the Lord Henry Howard to bestow the Arun- 
delian marbles, then remaining in the garden of Arundel-House in Lon- 
don, on that University. Lord Howard was also strongly importuned by 
Mr. Evelyn to send to Oxford an exquisite statue of Minerva ; but the 
sudden death of that Lord prevented its removal from Arundel-House in 
the Strand. Mr. Evelyn spent his time at this juncture in a manner as 
pleasing as he could wish : he had great credit at Court, and great repu- 
tation in the world ; was one of the commissioners for rebuilding St. 
Paul's, attended the meetings of the Royal Society with great regularity, 
and was punctual in the discharge of his office as a commissioner of the 
sick and wounded. Yet, in the midst of his employments, he found 
leisure to add fresh labours to those he had already published : As, 18. 
" The History of the three late famous Impostors, viz. Padre Ottomano, 
" pretended son and heir to the late Grand Seignior ; Mahomet Bei, a 
" pretended Prince of the Ottoman family, but in truth a Wallachian 
" counterfeit ; and Sabbati Levi, the supposed ^Messiah of the Jews, in 
" the year 1666 ; with a brief account of the ground and occasion of the 
" present war between the Turk and Venetian : together with the cause 
" and final extirpation, destruction, and exile of the Jews out of the 
" Empire of Persia." 1668, 8vo. These little histories abound with 
curious facts ; many of which, Mr. Evelyn says, he received from the 
mouth of a Persian stranger of quality, who had lately resided in London. 
This work was highly commended in the Acta Eruditorum Lipsiensium 
for the year 1690, with this remarkable circumstance, that the pretended 
Mahomet Bei was, at that very time, in the city of Leipsic. Sir George 
Mackenzie, an admired essay-writer of that age, having written " A 
" Panegyric on Solitude," our Author, by way of Antidote, published a 
piece, entitled : 19. " Public Employment and an active Life, with all 
" its Appendages, preferred to Solitude." 1667, 12mo. — 20. "An idea 
" of the Perfection of Painting, demonstrated from the principles of art, 
" and by examples conformable to the observations which Pliny and 

Quintilian have made upon the most celebrated Pieces of the ancient 
" painters, paralleled with some works of the most famous modem 
" painters, Leonardo de Vinci, Raphael, Julio Romano, and N. Poussin : 
" written in French by Roland Freart, and now translated." 1668. 
12mo. D 



22 



THE LIFE OF 



In the year 1669, Mr. Evelyn made a journey to Oxford, where he was 
honoured with a Doctor of Law's degree, as a mark of gratitude for the 
credit and services he had done them. To say the truth, he obtained all 
his honours without any solicitations of his own. Thus, when King 
Charles II. in order to promote trade, thought proper to erect a board 
for that purpose, and named several persons of great rank to be members 
of that council, he appointed Mr. Evelyn to be amongst them ; who, to 
express his gratitude for the favour, digested in a short and plain dis- 
course, the chief heads of the history of trade and navigation, and dedi- 
cated it to the King. The title of it runs thus : 21. « Navigation and 
" Commerce ; their original and progress : containing a succinct account 
" of traffic in general ; its benefits and improvements ; of discoveries, 
" wars, and conflicts at sea, from the original of navigation to this day ; 
" with special regard to the English Nation ; their several voyages and 
" expeditions, to the beginning of our late differences with Holland : in 
" which his Majestj^^'s title to the dominion of the sea, is asserted against 
<' the novel and later Pretenders." 1674, 12mo. The Koyal Society 
having ordered that every member of the council should in his turn pro- 
nounce, at their several meetings, a discourse on some subject of experi-^ 
mental philosophy, Mr. Evelyn presented them with a treatise, entitled: 
22. " Terra : A Philosophical Discourse of Earth, relating to the culture 
" and improvement of it for vegetation, and the propagation of plants."— 
This celebrated work was first printed in 1675, since which time it has 
undergone several impressions. The last edition was published in 1 778, in 
8vo, with notes by Dr. Hunter of York. The winter of 1683 being memo- 
rably severe, the fine plantations of our Author at Sayes-Court suffered 
inseparable damage ; of which he gave a philosophical and pathetical 
account to the Royal Society the succeeding spring. But the Czar of 
INIuscovy, who afterwards resided in this house of Mr. Evelyn, for the 
sake of being near Deptford-yard, is said to have committed almost as 
great devastations on his delicious garden as this lamentable frost. 

After the accession of Ejng James II. we find Mr, Evelyn, in De- 
cember 1685, appointed, with Lord Viscount Tiviot and Colonel Robert 
Philips, one of the Commissioners for executing the office of Lord Privy- 
seal, in the absence of Henry Earl of Clarendon, Lord Lieutenant of 
Ireland ; which place he held till the 11th of March, 1686, when the 



\ 



7 



MR. JOHN EVELYN. 23 

King was pleased to make Henry Baron Arundel, of Wardour, Lord 
Privy- seal. He wrote nothing during this reign. After the revolution, 
he was made Treasurer of Greenwich Hospital, and, though he was then 
much in years, yet he continued to publish treatises upon several sub- 
jects : As, 23. "Mundus Muliebris ; or, the Lady's Dressing-Room 
" unlocked, and her Toilet spread. In burlesque. Together with the 
« Fop-Dictionary, compiled for the use of the fair sex." 1690, 4to. — 
24. " Monsieur de la Quintinye's Treatise of Orange-Trees, with the 
" raising of Melons, omitted in the French editions, translated into 
" English." 1693. — 25. " Numismata : a Discourse of Medals, ancient 
*' and modern, together with some account of heads and effigies of 
" illustrious and famous persons, in sculps and taille-douce, of whom we 
« have no medals extant, and of the uses to be derived from them. To 
" which is added, a digression concerning Physiognomy." 1697> folio. 
The Connoisseurs look on this treatise as one of the perfectest on the 
subject in any language ; and it is said to be greatly admired by 
foreigners of taste. We are now arrived at the last publication with 
which our Author enriched the republic of letters ; it is entitled : — 
26. " Acetaria; or a Discourse of Sallets." 1699, 12mo. It was dedi- 
cated to the Lord Chancellor Somers, at that time President of the Royal 
Society : and, though Mr. Evelyn was then in his eightieth year^ it bears 
no marks of extreme age or impaired abilities. 

Nor had Mr. Evelyn been less generous in imparting his knowledge 
to others out of his own private collections, than by what he had pub- 
lished for the use of all. He communicated to Mr. Boyle a curious 
and exact account of the method by which the magazines of snow are 
preserved in Italy, for the use of the tables of the great. The late 
learned Bishop of London, Dr. Gibson, was furnished by him with those 
additional remarks on the county of Surrey, which are published in his 
English edition of Camden's Britannia. He contributed largely to 
Mr. Houghton's Husbandry and Trade improved ;" and Mr. Aubrey 
has testified how often he was indebted to him for his friendly assistance 
in many of his undertakings. In regard to the Royal Society, he was 
very assiduous in transmitting to them whatever fell within the compass 
of his inquiries, and used to style himself, humbly, " A Pioneer in the 
" service of the Royal Society." He certainly removed many obstruc- 

D 2 



24 THE LIFE OF 

tions, and smoothed the road that led directly to the temple of Wisdom 
and Truth. A¥hen we consider the number of books he published, and 
the variety of the subjects on which he employed his time, it is im- 
possible to forbear wondering at his industry and application ; and our 
wonder must be greatly heightened, when we reflect how careful he was 
in reviewing, correcting, and augmenting all his original works. But 
this is not all ; for he left behind him unfinished, or at least unpub- 
lished, works of a more extensive nature than those that are printed, 
which had cost him incredible pains, and for which he had made pro- 
dio-ious collections. — His great work of all was intended to be called 
" A general History of all Trades ;" of which we have an account in 
one of his own letters to Mr. Boyle, where he assigns the reasons for 
laying it aside. But though he desisted from the original plan, yet it 
was not till he had finished several parts of it ; particularly his Chalco- 
graphy, which Mi\ Boyle prevailed on him to publish, and the following 
pieces which he never published : " Five Treatises, containing a full 
" view of the several arts of painting in oil, painting in miniature, 
" annealing in glass, enamelling, and making marble paper ;" and " The 
" Plan of a Royal Garden, describing and showing the amplitude of that 
*' part of Georgics which belongs to Horticulture." To these his un- 
published works we must add another^ mentioned only by Mr. Wood, 
who gives us nothing concerning it but the following title : " A Treatise 
« of the Dignity of Man." 

Full of age and honours, this amiable Author died upon the 27th of 
February, 1705-6, in the 86th year of his age ; and was interred at Wot- 
ton, under a tomb of about three feet high of free-stone^ shaped like a 
coffin, with an inscription upon the marble with which it is covered, 
expressing, according to his own intention, that, " Living in an age of 
" extraordinary events and revolutions, he had learned from thence this 
" truth, which he desired might be thus communicated to posterity : 

" THAT ALL IS VANITY WHICH IS NOT HONEST ; A2$B THAT THERE 
" IS NO SOLID WISDOM BUT IN REAL PIETY." As to the eulogiums 

which ingenious and learned men have bestowed upon Mr. Evelyn, they 
are as numerous as they are great. Mr. Cowley, as we have already 
observed, inscribed his Poem, called " The Garden," to him ; and hath 
said the highest things of him in the preface to it. Mr. Glanville has 



MR. JOHN EVELYN. 



25 



given a great character of our Author : " Mr. John Evelyn," says he, 
" hath very considerably advanced the history of fruit and forest-trees, 
" by his Silva and Pomona ; and greater things are expected from his 
" preparations for the Elysium Britannicum ; a noble design now under 
" his hands. And certainly the inquisitive world is much indebted to 
" this generous gentleman for his very ingenious performances in this 
" kind : as also for those others of sculpture, picture, architecture, and 
" the like useful things, with which he hath enriched it." The learned 
and judicious Mr. Wotton, in his "Reflections on ancient and modern 
" learning," speaks of Mr. Evelyn in still higher terms ; and says, " that 
" it may be esteemed a small character of Mr. Evelyn's Silva, or Dis- 
" course of Forest- trees, to say that it outdoes all that Theophrastus and 
" Pliny have left us on that subject ; for it not only does that and a great 
" deal more, but contains more useful precepts, hints, and discoveries 
" upon that now so necessary a part of our res 7mstica, than the world 
" had till then known from all the observations of former ages." Bishop 
Burnet, acknowledging some communications from him, styles him, " a 
" most ingenious and virtuous gentleman, who is not satisfied to have 
" advanced the knowledge of this age by his own most useful and suc- 
" cessful labours about Planting, and divers other ways, but is ready to 
contribute every thing in his power to perfect other men's endeavours." 
Another eminent Author, speaking of hisNumismata, gives the following 
character of that book and its Author: " We might justly have expected, 
" whatever could have been desired on this subject, from the excellently 
" learned pen of Mr. Evelyn, had he bent his thoughts, as was believed, 
" towards the consideration of our British coins as well as medals. It 
" now appears that his Numismata carried him no farther than those 
" larger and more choice pieces that are usually called by this latter 
" name, whereon he has indeed treated with the accuracy and fineness 
*' which became a gentleman and scholar." 

By his excellent wife, who survived him about three years, he had 
five sons and three daughters. Of the latter, one only survived him, 
Susanna, married to William Draper, Esq. of Adscomb, in Surrey. Of 
the former, all died young except Mr. John Evelyn, the Author of many 
Translations both in prose and verse, and of some original compositions in 



26 



THE LIFE, &c. 



Dryden's Miscellanies. He was the father of Sir Jolm Evelyn, created 
a Baronet by letters patent, bearing date July 30, 1713, and great 
grandfather to the present Sir Frederick Evelyn, now residing upon the 
family estate at Wotton in Surrey. 



August 1, 1776". 



T O 



THE KING'S MOST SACRED MAJESTY, 



CHARLES THE SECOND 



Po R to whom, Sir, with so just and equal right, 
should I present the fruits of my labours, as to the 
Patron of that Society, under whose Influence it was 
produced, so to whose Auspices alone it owes the fa- 
vourable acceptance which it has received in the world? 
To you then, Royal Sir, does this Third Edition con- 
tinue its humble addresses, tanquam Nemoriim Vindici, 
as of old, they paid their devotions Herculi et Silvano ; 
since vou are our Geo? hlulq^ our Nemorensis Rex ; as 
having once had your Temple, and Court too, under 



28 EPISTLE DEDICATORY. 

that sacred Oak which you consecrated with your 
Presence, and we celebrate, with just acknowledg- 
ment to God, for your Preservation. 

I need not acquaint your Majesty how many mil- 
lions of timber-trees, besides infinite others, have been 
propagated and planted throughout your vast domi- 
nions, at the instigation, and by the sole direction of 
this work ; because your gracious Majesty has been 
pleased to own it publickly for my encouragement, 
who, in all that I here pretend to say, deliver only 
those precepts which your Majesty has put into prac- 
tice ; as having, like another Cyrus, by your own 
royal example, exceeded all your predecessors in the 
plantations you have made, beyond, I dare assert it, 
all the monarchs of this nation, since the conquest 
of it. And, indeed, what more august, what more 
worthy your Majesty, or more becoming our imita- 
tion, than, whilst you are thus solicitous for the 
public good, we pursue your Majesty's great ex- 
ample, and, by cultivating our decaying woods, con- 
tribute to your power, as to our greatest wealth and 
safety ; since whilst your Majesty is furnished to send 



EPISTLE DEDICATORY. 29 

forth those Argos and Trojan horses, about this 
happy island, we are to fear nothing from without 
. it ; and whilst we remain obedient to your just com- 
mands, nothing from within it. 

It is now some years past, that your Majesty was 
pleased to declare your favourable acceptance of a 
Treatise of Architecture, which I then presented to 
you, with many gracious expressions, and that it 
was a most useful piece. Sir, that encouragement 
(together with the success of the book itself, and of 
the former editions of this) has animated me still to 
continue my oblation to your Majesty of these im- 
provements : nor was it certainly without some pro- 
vident conduct, that we have been thus solicitous to 
begin, as it were, with materials for building, and 
Directions to Builders, if due reflection be made 
on that deplorable calamity, the conflagration of 
your imperial city ; which, nevertheless by the bless- 
ing of God, and your Majesty's gracious influence, 
we have seen rise again a new and much more glo- 
rious Phoenix. 

E 



30 EPISTLE DEDICATORY. 

'in This tribute I now once more lay at the feet of 
our Royal Founder. 

May your Majesty be pleased to be invoked by 
that no inglorious title, in the profoundest sub- 
mission of, 

Gracious Sir, 

^ ' Your Majesty's 

Ever loyal, most obedient, 

» 

And faithful Subject and Servant, 

J. EVELYN. 

Sayes-Court, Dec. 5, 1678. 



TO THE READER. 



i^FTER what the frontispiece and porch of this wooden edifice pre- 
sents you, I shall need no farther to repeat the occasion of this following 
Discourse : 1 am only to acquaint you, that as it was delivered to the 
Royal Society, by an unworthy member thereof, in obedience to their 
commands ; by the same it is now re-published without any farther pro- 
spect : And the reader is to know, that if these dry sticks afford him any 
sap, it is one of the least and meanest of those pieces which are every 
day produced by that illustrious assembly, and which enrich their col- 
lections, as so many monuments of their accurate experiments, and 
public endeavours, in order to the production of real and useful theories, 
the propagation and improvement of natural science, and the honour of 
their institution. If to this there be any thing subjoined here, which 
may a while bespeak the patience of the reader, it is only for the encou- 
ragement of an industry, and worthy labour, much in our days neglected, 
as haply reputed a consideration of too sordid and vulgar a nature for 
noble persons and gentlemen to busy themselves withal, and who oftener 
find out occasions to fell down and destroy their woods and plantations, 
than either to repair or improve them. 

But we are not without hopes of taking off these prejudices, and of 
reconciling them to a subject and an industry which has been conse- 
crated, as I may say, by as good and as great persons as any the world 
has produced ; and whose names we find mingled amongst kings and 
philosophers, grave senators and patriots of their country : for such of old 
were Solomon, Cyrus, and Numa ; Licinius, surnamed Stolo, Cato, and 
Cincinnatus ; the Pisos, Fabii, Cicero, the Plinys, and thousands more 
whom I might enumerate, that disdained not to cultivate these rusticities 
even with their own hands, and to esteem it no small accession to dignify 
their titles, and adorn their purple with these rural characters of their 
affections to planting, and love of this part of Agriculture, which has 
transmitted to us their venerable names through so many ages and 
vicissitudes of the world. 

E2 



32 



TO THE READER. 



That famous answer alone which the Persian Monarch gave to 
rSS Ly Sander, wdll suffi<?iently justify that which I have said, besides what 
Tu)T might add out of our writings and examples of the rest ; but since 
57. these may suffice, after due reproofs of the late impolitic waste and uni- 
versal sloth amongst us, we should now turn our indignation into prayers, 
and address ourselves to our better-natured countrymen, that such woods, 
as do yet remain entire, might be carefully preserved, and such as are 
destroyed, sedulously repaired : It is what all persons who are owners of 
land may contribute to, and with infinite delight, as well as profit, who 
are touched with that laudable ambition of imitating their illustrious 
ancestors, and of worthily serving their generation. To these my earnest 
and humble advice should be ; that at their first coming to their estates, 
and as soon as they get children, they would seriously think of this work 
of propagation also : for I observe there is no part of husbandry which 
men commonly more fail in, neglect, and have cause to repent of, than 
that they did not begin planting betimes, without which they can expect 
neither fruit, ornament, or delight from their labours. Men seldom plant 
trees till they begin to be wise, that is, till they grow old, and find, by 
experience, the prudence and necessity of it. When Ulysses, after a ten 
years absence, was returned from Troy, and coming home, found his aged 
father in the field planting of trees, he asked him, " Why, being now so 
*' far advanced in years, he would put himself to the fatigue and labour 
" of planting that, of which he was never likely to enjoy the fruits ?" The 
good old man, taking him for a stranger, gently replied: "I plant against 
" my son Ulysses comes home." The application is obvious, and in- 
structive for both old and young ; and we have a more modern in- 
stance almost like that of the good old Laertes. — Upon the complaint of 
learned persons and great travellers deploring the loss of many rare and 
precious things, trees and plants, especially instancing the Balsam-tree of 
Gilead, (now almost, if not altogether, failing, and no more to be found 
where it grew in great plenty,) application is made to young men, to 
consider it seriously, and to fall a planting while time is before them, 
with this encouraging exclamation, " Agite, 6 Adolescentes, et antequam 
" canities vobis obrepat, stirpes jam alueritis, quas vobis, cum insigni 
" utilitate, delectationem etiam adferent : Nam quemadmodum canities 
" temporis successu, vobis insciis, sensim obrepit: Sic natura vobis 
" inserviens educabit quod telluri vestree concredetis, modo prima initia 



TO THE READER. 



S3 



" illi dederitis."— Pet. Belonius * De neglecta stirpium Cultura. 
Problema ioc. 

My next advice is, that they do not easily commit themselves to the 
dictates of their ignorant hinds and servants, who are, generally speaking, 
more fit to learn than to instruct. " Male agitur cum Domino quem , 
" Villicus docet," was an observation of old Cato's ; and it was Ischoma- 
chus who told Socrates, discoursing one day upon a like subject, " That 
" it was far easier to make than to find a good husbandman :" I have 
often proved it so in gardeners, and I believe it will hold in most of our 
\ country employments. Country people universally know, that all trees 
consist of roots, stems, boughs, leaves, &c. but can give no account of 
the species, virtues, or farther culture, besides the making of a pit or 
hole, casting and treading in the earth, &c. which require a deeper search 
than they are capable of ; we are then to exact labour, not conduct and 
reason, from the greatest part of them : and the business of planting is an 
art or science, (for so Varro has solemnly defined it,) and very different De r. r 
from what many in his time accounted of it ; " Facillimam esse nec 
" ullius acuminis Rusticationem," namely. That it was an easy and insipid 
study. It was the simple culture only, with so much difficulty retrieved 
from the late confusion of an intestine and bloody war, like that of ours, 
and now put in reputation again, which made the noble poet write : 



" Verbis ea vincere magnum 



Quam fit, et augustis hunc addere rebus honorem !" georg. iii. 



" How hard it was 



" Low subjects with illustrious words to grace !" 

Seeing, as the Orator does himself express it, «* Nihil est homine libero in agris erant 
" dignius," there is nothing more becoming and worthy of a gentleman, no, Jes".*^ ^citie 
not the majesty of a Consul f. In ancient and best times, men were not ^+^snv£esint 
honoured and esteemed for the only learned who were great linguists, nffi?'"seethfs 
profound critics, readers and devourers of books, but such whose studies tlrprei^d^' by 
consisted of the discourses, documents, and observations of their fore- ^''cl'rpoi!''' 
fathers, ancient and venerable persons, who (as the excellent author of 



* P. Beloni wrote in French, and his work here quoted, was turned into Latin by Car. 
Clusius, in 1589. Ed. 



34 



TO THE HEADER. 



the rites of the Israelites, chap. xv. &cc. acquaints us) were not only 
obhged to instruct and inform their children of the wonderful things God 
had done for their ancestors, together with the precepts of the moral law, 
feasts, and religious ceremonies, but taught them likewise all that con- 
cerned Agriculture, joined with lessons of perpetual practice, in which 
they were, doubtless, exceedingly knowing, whilst, during so many ages, 
they employed themselves almost continually in it : And though now-a- 
days this noble art be for the most part left to be exercised amongst us 
by people of grosser and unthinking souls, yet there is no science whatever 
which contains a vaster compass of knowledge, infinitely more useful and 
beneficial to mankind, than the fruitless and empty notions of the greatest 
part of speculatists, counted to be the only eruditi and learned men. An 
Israelite, who, from tradition of his forefathers, his own experience, and 
some modern reading, had informed himself of the religion and laws 
which were to regulate his lifcj and knew how to procure things neces- 
sary ; who perfectly understood the several qualities of the earth, plants, 
and places agreeable to each sort, and to cultivate, propagate, defend 
them from accidents, and bring them to maturity ; that also was skilled 
in the nature of cattle, their food, diseases, remedies, kc. (which those 
who amongst us pass for the most learned and accomplished gentlemen 
and scholars, are, for the most part, grossly ignorant of, and look upon as 
base, rustic, and things below them,) is, in this learned author's opinion, 
infinitely more to be valued than a man brought up either in wrangling 
at the bar, or the noisy and ridiculous disputes of our schools, &c. To 
this sense the learned Modena. And it is remarkable, that after all that 
wise Solomon had said, " that all was vanity and vexation of spirit/' 
among so many particulars he reckons up, he should be altogether silent, 
and say nothing concerning husbandry ; as, doubtless, considering it the 
most useful, innocent, and laudable employment of our life, requiring 
those, who cultivate the ground, to live in the country, remote from city- 
luxury, and the temptation to the vices he condemns. It was indeed a 
plain man, a potter by trade ; but let nobody despise him because a 
potter, ( Agathocles, a king, was of that craft) who, in my opinion, has given 
us the true reason why husbandry, and particularly planting, is no more im- 
proved in this age of ours, especially where persons are lords and owners 
Paiissy. le of much land : " The truth is," says he, " when men have acquired any 
.TR?che'I" "considerable fortune by their good husbandry and experience, (forgetting 



TO THE READER. 



35 



" that the greatest Patriarchs, Princes, their sons and daughters, belonged 
« to the plough and the flock,) they account it a shame to breed up their 
« children in the same calling which they themselves were educated in, 
« but presently design them gentlemen. They must, forsooth, have a coat 
« of arms, and liye upon their estates ; so as by the time the son's beard is 
" grown, he begins to be ashamed of his father, and would be ready to 
" defy him that should, upon any occasion, mind him of his honest 
" extraction : And if it chance that the good man have other children 
" to provide for. This must be the darling, be bred at school and the 
" university, whilst the rest must to cart and plough with the father." 
" This is the cause," says my author, " that our lands are so ill cultivated 
" and neglected : Every body will subsist upon their own revenue, and 
" take their pleasure, whilst they resign their estates to be managed by 
« the most ignorant, the children whom they leave at home, or the 
" hinds to whom they commit them ; when, as in truth and reason, the 
" more learning, the better philosophers, and the greater abilities they 
" possess, the more and better they are qualified to cultivate and improve 
" their estates." Methinks this is well and rationally argued. 

And now you have in part what I had to produce in extenuation of 
this adventure : that, animated with a command, and assisted by divers 
worthy persons, (whose names I am prone to celebrate with all just re- 
spects,) I have presumed to cast in my symbol ; which, with the rest that 
are to follow, may, I hope, be in some degree serviceable to him (who- 
ever the happy person may be) that shall oblige the world with that 
complete system of Agriculture, which as yet seems a desideratum, and 
wanting to its full perfection. This, I assure you, is one of the principal 
designs of the Royal Society, not in this particular only, but through all 
the liberal and more useful arts ; for which, in the estimation of all equal 
judges, it will merit the greatest of encouragements; that so at last, what 
the learned Columella has wittily reproached, and complained of, as a 
defect in that age of his, concerning Agriculture in general, and is appli- 
cable here, may attain its desired remedy and consummation in this of 
ours. 

« Sola Res Rustica, qu£e sine dubitatione proxima, et quasi consan- p, 
guinea Sapientiae est, tarn discentibus egeat, quam magistris : Adhuc nestly recom. 
« enim Scholas Rhetorum, et Geometrarum, Musicorumque, vel quod s«Tous'Vn'- 
" magis mirandum est, contemptissimorum vitiorum officinas, gulosius gemry!*^ 



Prffifat. ad 
Silvinum ; 
which I ear- 



36 



TO THE READER. 



Voiuptatcs « condiendi cibos, et luxuriosius ferciila struendi, capitumque et capillo- 

agricolarum ^ ^ _ -j- 

niihiadsapi- « ^um concinnatores, non solum esse audivi, sed et ipse vidi ; Agricola- 

cntis vitam _ ^ . 

proxime vi. « tionisneque Doctores, qui se profiterentur, neque Discipulos coffiiovi." 

dentur acce- ^ ^ • iiii 

dere. cic. de But tliis I leave for our peruked gallants to interpret, and should now 
apply myself to the directive part, which I am all this^ while bespeaking, 
if, after what I have said in the several paragraphs of the ensuing Dis- 
course upon the argument of wood, (and which in this edition, coming 
abroad with innumerable improvements and advantages, so furnished as I 
hope shall neither reproach the author or repent the reader,) it might not 
seem superfluous to have premised any thing here for the encouragement 
of so becoming an industry. There are divers learned and judicious men 
who have preceded me in this argument ; as many, at least, as have 
undertaken to write and compile vast herbals and theatres of plants ; of 
which we may have some of our own countrymen, (especially the most 
industrious and learned Mr. Ray,) who have boldly, I dare affirm it, sur- 
passed any, if not all the foreigners that are extant. In those it is you 
meet with the description of the several plants, by discourses, figures, 
names, places of growth, time of flourishing, and their medicinal virtues, 
which may supply any deficiency of mine as to those particulars ; if, for- 
bearing the repetition, it should by any be imputed for a defect, though 
it were indeed none of my design. I say these things are long since per- 
formed to our hands ; but there is none of these (that I at least know of, 
and are come to my perusal) who have taken any considerable pains how 
to direct and encourage us in the culture of Forest-trees, the grand defect 
of this nation, besides some small sprinklings to be met with in Gervas 
INIarkham, Old Tusser ; and, of foreigners, the Country-farm, long since 
translated out of French, and by no means suitable to our clime and 
country. Neither have any of these proceeded after my method, and so 
particularly in raising, planting, dressing, governing, &c. or so sedulously 
made it their business to specify the mechanical uses of the several kinds, 
as I have done, which was hitherto a great desideratum, and in which 
the reader will likewise find some things altogether new and instructive ; 
together with directions and encouragements for the propagation of some 
foreign curiosities of ornament and use, which were hitherto neglected. 
If I have upon occasion presumed to say any thing concerning their 
medicinal properties, it has been modestly and frugally, and with chief, 
if not only, respect to the poor woodman, whom none, I presume, will 



TO THE READER. 



37" 



envy, that, living far from the physician, he should, in case of necessity, 
consult the Reverend Druid, his Oaks *, and his Elm, Birch, or Elder, 'Ne suvse 
for a short breath, a green wound, or a sore leg, casualties incident to his ridiorque na- 
hard labour. These are the chief particulars of this ensuing Work, and medicinis ca< 
what it pretends hitherto of singular, in which let me be permitted to p^ente*rTrim 
say, there is sufficient for instruction, and more than is extant in any 

quam non re- 

coUection whatsoever (absit verbo invidia) in this way, and upon this Se^homfnt 
subject, abstracting things practicable, of solid use, and material, from fieret'^'Slm 
the ostentation and impertinences of divers writers, who, receiving all 
that came to hand on trust, with a view to swell their monstrous volumes, JJ^''^™^- 
have hitherto imposed upon the credulous world, without conscience or essT^lemedk 
honestv. I will not exasperate the adorers of our ancient and late natu- p="'^'=' ^"is°' 

^ mventu faci- 

ralists, by repeating what our Verulam has justly pronounced concerning "g^^j"'^^™; 
their rhapsodies, because I likewise honour their painful endeavours, and ^us vivimus 

. . , Plin. lib. xxvi. 

am obliged to them for much of that I know ; nor will I, with some, cap. i. 
reproach Pliny, Porta, Cardan, Mizaldus, Cursius, and many others of 
great name, whose writings I have diligently consulted, because of the 
knowledge they have imparted to me on this occasion ; but I must 
deplore the time which is, for the most part, so miserably lost in pursuit 
of their speculations, where they treat upon this argument. The world 
is now advised, and, blessed be God, infinitely redeemed from that base 
and servile submission of our noblest faculties to their blind traditions. 
This, you will be apt to say, is a haughty period ; but whilst I affirm it of 
the past, it justifies and does honour to the present industry of our age ; 
and of which there cannot be a greater and more emulous instance than 
the passion of his Majesty to encourage his subjects, and of the Royal 
Society, (his Majesty's Foundation,) who receive and promote his dictates, 
in all that is laudable and truly emolumental of this nature. 

It is not therefore that I here presume to instruct him in the manage- 
ment of that great and august enterprize of resolving to plant and repair 
his ample forests, iand other magazines of timber, for the benefit of his 
Royal Navy, and the glory of his kingdoms ; but to present to his Sacred 
Majesty, and to the world, what advices I have received from others, 
observed myself, and most industriously collected from a studious propen- 
sity to serve as one of the least intelligences in the ampler orb of our 
illustrious Society, and in a work so necessary and important. 

F 



9 



38 



TO THE READER. 



And now, since I have mentioned the Society, give me leave, worthy- 
reader, as a member of that body which has been the chief promoter of 
this ensuing Work, to vindicate (as I stand obliged) that assembly, and 
consequently the honour of his Majesty and the nation, in a particular 
which concerns it, though in appearance, a little foreign to the present 
subject. 

I will not say that all which I have written in the several paragraphs 
of this treatise is new ; but that there are very many new and useful 
things and observations, (without insisting on the method only,) not 
hitherto delivered by any author, and so freely communicated, I hope 
will sufficiently appear. It is not therefore in behalf of any particular 
which concerns myself that I have been induced to enlarge this preface ; 
but, by taking this occasion, to encounter the unsufferable boldness or 
ambition of some persons, as well strangers as others, arrogating to them- 
selves the being inventors of divers new and useful experiments, justly 
attributable to several members of the Royal Society *. 

So far has that Assembly been from affecting glory, that they seem 
rather to have declined their due ; not as ashamed of so numerous and 
fair an offspring ; but as abundantly satisfied that^ after all the hard mea- 
sures and virulent reproaches they had sustained for endeavouring, by 
united attempts, and at their own charges, to improve real philosophy, 
they had, from time to time cultivated that province, in so many useful 



* Consult the History of the Royal Society and their registers The laws of motion, 

and the geometrical straightening of curve-lines, were first found out by Sir Christopher 

Wren and Mr. Thomas Neile. The equated isocrone motion of the weight of a circular 

pendulum in a paraboloeid, for the regulating of clocks, and the improving pocket- watches 
by springs applied to the balance, were first invented and demonstrated to this Society by 
Dr. Hooke ; together with all those new and useful instruments, contrivances, and experi- 
ments, mathematical and physical, published in his posthumous works by the most accom- 
plished Mr. Waller, Secretai-y to the Royal Society ; and since, those of the incomparable 
learned Sir Isaac Newton, now President of the Royal Society ; Mr. Halley, the worthy 
Professor of Geometry in the University of Oxford ; Dr. Grew, and several more, whose 
works and useful inventions sufficiently celebrate their merits. I do not mention the 
Barometer, to which might be added the prodigious effects of the Speculum Ustorium^ 
surpassing what the French confidently, or rather audaciously, pretend to ; nor the other 
admirable inventions, injuriously arrogated by strangers, though due of right to English- 
men, and members of this Society ; for it is not the business of this preface to enumerate 
all, though it was necessary to toucli on some instances. 



TO THE READER. 89 

and profitable instances as are already published to the world, and will 
be easily asserted to their authors before all equitable judges. 

This being the sole inducement of publishing this apology, it may not 
perhaps seem unseasonable to disabuse some, otherwise, well-meaning 
people, who led away and perverted by the noise of a few ignorant and 
comical buffoons, (whose malevolence or impertinences entitle them to 
nothing that is truly great and venerable,) are, with an insolence suitable 
to their understanding, still crying out, and asking. What have the 
Society done ? 

Now, as nothing less than miracles (nor those, unless God should every 
day repeat them at the call of these extravagants) will convince some 
persons of the most rational and divine truths, already so often and extra- 
ordinarily established, so neither will any thing- satisfy these unreasonable 
men, but the production of the Philosopher's Stone and Great Elixir ; 
Which yet were they possessors of, they would consume upon their 
luxury and vanity. 

It is not, therefore, to gratify these magnificent fops, whose talents 
reach but to the adjusting of their peruques, courting a miss, or at the 
farthest, writing a smutty or scurrilous libel, which they would have to 
pass for genuine wit, that I concern myself in these papers ; but, as well 
in honour of our Royal Founder, as the nation, to assert what by other 
countries has been surreptitiously arrogated, and by which they not only 
value themselves abroad, but, prevailing on the modesty of that industrious 
assembly, seek the deference of those who, whilst it remains still silent, 
do not so clearly discern this glorious plumage to be purely ascititious, 
and not a feather of their own. But still, what have they done ? 

Those who perfectly comprehend the scope and end of that noble 
Institution, which is to improve natural knowledge, and enlarge the 
empire of operative philosophy, not by an abolition of the old, but by the 
real effects of the experimental, collecting, examining, and improving their 
scattered pheenomena, with a view to establish even the received methods 
and principles of the schools, as far as were consistent with truth and 
matter of fact, thought it long enough that the world had been imposed 
upon by that notional and formal way of delivering divers systems and 
bodies of philosophy, falsely so called, beyond which there was no more 
country to discover ; which being brought to the test and trial, vapours 
all away in fume and empty sound. 

Fa 



40 



TO THE READER. 



This structure then being thus ruinous and crazy, it is obvious what 
they were to do ; even the same which skilful architects do every day 
before us ; by pulling down the decayed and sinking wall, to erect a 
better and more substantial in its place. They not only take down the 
old, reject the useless and decayed, but sever such materials as are solid, 
and will serve again ; bring new ones in, prepare and frame a model 
suitable to so magnificent a design : This Solomon did in order to the 
building of the material temple ; and this is here to be pursued in the 
intellectual : Nay, here was abundance of rubbish to be cleared, that the 
area might be free ; and then was the foundation to be deeply searched, 
the materials accurately examined, squared, and adjusted before it could 
be laid : Nor was this the labour of a few ; less than a much longer time, 
more cost and encouragement than any which the Society has yet met 
withal, could not in reason be sufficient, effectually to go through so 
chargeable a work, and highly necessary. 

A long time it was they had been surveying the decays of what was 
ready now to drop in pieces. Whatever show the outside made with a 
noise of elements and qualities, occult and evident, abhorrence of vacuum, 
sympathies, antipathies, substantial forms, and prime matter courting 
form ; epicycles, Ptolemean hypotheses, magisterial definitions, peremptory 
maxims, speculative and positive doctrines, and alti-sonant phrases, with 
a thousand other precarious and unintelligible notions, (all which they 
have been turning over to see if they could find any thing sincere and 
useful among this pedantic rubbish, but in vain,) here was nothing ma- 
terial, nothing of moment, mathematical or mechanical, and which had 
not been miserably sophisticated, on which to lay the stress ; nothing in 
a manner whereby any farther progress could be made, for the raising 
and ennobling the dignity of mankind in the sublimest operations of the 
rational faculty, by clearing the obscurities, and healing the defects of 
most of the physiological hypotheses, repugnant, as they hitherto seemed 
to be, to the principles of real knowledge and experience. 

Now, although it was neither in their hopes or in their prospect to 
consummate a design requiring so mighty aids, environed as they have 
been with these prejudices, yet have they not desisted from the enterprize ; 
but rather than so noble and illustrious an undertaking should not proceed 
for want of some generous and industrious spirits to promote the work, 
they have themselves submitted to those mean employments of digging 



TO THE READER. 



41 



in the very quarry ; yea, even of making brick where there was no straw 
but what they gleaned, and lay dispersed up and down ; nor did they 
think their pains yet ill bestowed, if, through the assiduous labour and a 
train of continual experiments, they might at last furnish, and leave solid 
and uncorrupt materials to a succeeding and more grateful age, for the 
building up a body of real and substantial philosophy, which should never 
succumb to time, but with the ruins of nature, and the world itself 

In order to this, how many, and almost innumerable, have been their 
trials and experiments, through the large and ample field both of art and 
nature ! we call our journals, registers, correspondence, and transactions 
to witness ; and may, with modesty, provoke all our systematical 
methodists, natural historians, and pretenders, hitherto extant from the 
beginning of letters to this period, to show us so ample, so worthy, and 
so useful a collection. It is a fatality and an injury to be deplored, that 
those who give us hard words, will not first vouchsafe impartially to 
examine these particulars, since all ingenuous spirits could not but be 
abundantly satisfied, that this illustrious assembly has not met so many 
years purely for speculation only ; though I take even that to be no 
ignoble culture of the mind, or time mispent, for persons who have so 
few friends, and slender obligations to those who should patronize and 
encourage them : but they have aimed at greater things, and greater 
things produced. By emancipating and freeing themselves from the 
tyranny of opinion, delusory and fallacious shows, they receive nothing 
upon trust, but bring all things to the Lydian touch ; make them pass 
the fire, the anvil and the file, till they come forth perfectly repurged, and 
of consistence. They are not hasty in pronouncing fi-om a single, or 
incompetent number of experiments, the ecstatic 'Eupv)xa, and offer 
hecatombs ; but, after the most diligent scrutiny, and by degrees, and 
wary inductions honestly and faithfully made, record the truth and event 
of trials, and transmit them to posterity. They resort not immediately to 
general propositions upon every specious appearance, but stay for light 
and information from particulars, and make report de facto, and as sense 
informs them. They reject no sect of philosophers, no mechanic helps, 
except no persons of men; but cheerfully embracing all, cull out of all, and 
alone retain what abides the test; that, from a plentiful and well-furnished 
magazine of true experiments, they may in time advance to solemn and 
established axioms, general rules and maxims ; and a structure may 



4^ 



TO THE READER. 



indeed lift up its head, such as may stand the shock of time, and render 
a soUd account of the pheenomena and effects of nature, the aspectable 
works of God, and their combinations ; so as, by causes and effects, 
certain and useful consequences may be deduced : Therefore they do not 
fill their papers with transcripts out of rhapsodies, mountebanks, and 
compilers of receipts and secrets, to the loss of oil and labour ; but, as it 
were, eviscerating nature, disclosing the resorts and springs of motion, 
have collected innumerable experiments, histories and discourses, and 
brought in specimens for the improvement of Astronomy, Geography, 
Navigation, Optics ; all the parts of Agriculture, the Garden, and the 
Forest ; Anatomy of Plants and Animals ; Mines and Ores ; Measures 
and Equations of Time by accurate Pendulums and other Motions ; 
Hydro and Hygro-Statics, divers Engines, Powers, and Automata ; with 
innumerable more luciferous particulars subservient to human life ; of 
which Dr. Glanvil has given an ample and ingenious account in his 
learned essay, and since in the posthumous works of Dr. Hooke, lately 
published by the most obhging Mr. Waller, already mentioned. 

This is, reader, what they have done, and they are but part of the 
materials which the Society have hitherto amassed and prepared for this 
great and illustrious work ; not to pass over an infinity of solitary and 
loose experiments subsidiary to it, gathered at no small pains and cost : 
for so have they hitherto borne the burden and heat of the day alone ; 
sapping and mining to lay the foundation deep, and raise a superstructure, 
to be one day perfected by the joint endeavours of those who shall, in a 
kinder age, have little else to do, but the putting and cementing of the 
parts together, which, to collect and fit, have cost them so much solicitude 
and care. Solomon indeed built the glorious Temple, but it was David 
provided the materials. Did men in those days insolently ask. What had 
he done in all the time of that tedious preparation ? I beseech you, what 
obhgation has the Royal Society to render an account of their proceedings 
to any who are not of the body, especially when they carry on the work 
at thek own expense amidst so many contradictions ? It is an evil spirit, 
and an evil age, which, having sadly debauched the minds of men, seeks 
mth industry to blast and undermine all attempts and endeavours that 
signify to the illustration of truth, the discovery of imposture, and its 
sandy foundation. 



TO THE READER. 



43 



" Those who come," says the Noble Verulam, " to inquire after 
" knowledge, with a mind to scorn, shall be sure to find matter for 
" their humour, but none for their instruction." Would men bring light 
of invention, and not fire-brands of contradiction, knowledge would 
infinitely increase. These are the Sanballats and Horonites who disturb 
our men upon the wall ; but let us rise up and build, and be no more ^ehem. ». is. 
discouraged. It is impossible to conceive how so honest and worthy a 
design should have found so few promoters, and so cold a welcome in a 
nation whose eyes are so wide open. We see how greedily the French 
and other strangers embrace and cultivate the design : What sumptuous 
buildings, well-furnished observatories, ample appointments, salaries, and 
accommodations have they erected to carry on the work, whilst we live 
precariously, and spin the web out of our own bowels ! Indeed, we have 
had the honour to be the first who led the way, and raised the spark, 
which, like a train, has taken fire and warmed the regions all about us. 
This glory, doubtless, shall none take from us ; but, whilst they flourish 
so abroad, we want the spirit that should diffuse it here at home, and 
give progress to so hopeful a beginning : But, as we said, the enemy of 
mankind has done us this despite; it is his interest to impeach, in any sort, 
whatever opposes his dominion, (which is to lead and settle men in errors, 
as well in arts and natural knowledge as in religion,) and therefore would 
be glad the world should still be groping after both. It is he that sets 
the buffoons and empty sycophants to turn all that is great and virtuous 
into raillery and derision : It is therefore to encounter these, that, like 
those resolute builders, whilst we employ one hand in the work, we with 

^ Nehem. iv. 17. 

the other, are obliged to hold our weapon till some bold and gallant 
genius deliver us, and raise the siege. 

How great a name would such a benefactor establish ! What a constel- 
lation would he make ! How gloriously would he shine ! For mine own 
part, religiously I profess it, were I not a person, who (whilst I stood ex- 
pecting, when others more worthy and able than myself should have 
snatched the opportunity of signalizing a work worthy of immortality) had 
long since given hostages to fortune, and so put myself out of a capacity 
of showing my affection to a design so glorious, I would not only most 
cheerfully have contributed towards the freeing the Society from the 
straits it has so long struggled under, but sacrificed all my secular interests 
in their service. That glory, however, is reserved for the gallant hero. 



44 



TO THE READER. 



whoever he be, who, truly weighing the noble and universal consequence 
of so high an enterprize, shall at last free it of these reproaches, and 
either set it above the reach of envy, or convert it to emulation. 

This were indeed to consult an honest fame, and to embalm the 
memory of a greater name than any has yet appeared amongst all the 
benefactors of the disputing sects. Let it suffice to affirm, that, next to 
the propagation of our most Holy Faith and its appendants, (nor can his 
Majesty or the nation build their fame on a more lasting or a more 
glorious monument, the propagation of learning and useful arts having 
always survived the triumphs of the proudest conquerors and spillers of 
blood,) Princes have been more renowned for their civility to arts and 
letters, than to all their sanguinary victories, subduing provinces, and 
making those brutish desolations in the world to feed a savage and vile 
ambition. 

Is not our Royal Founder already panegyrized by all the universities, 
academists, learned persons^ divers princes, ambassadors, and illustrious 
men from abroad ? Witness the many accurate treatises and volumes on 
the most curious and useful subjects, medicinal, mathematical, and me- 
chanicalj dedicated to his Majesty as Founder, to the President, and to 
the Society, by the greatest wits and most profoundly knowing of the 
European world, celebrating their institution and proceedings : Witness 
the daily submissions and solemn appeals of the most learned strangers to 
their suffi'ages, as to the most able, candid, and impartial judges : Witness 
the letters and correspondences from most part of the habitable earth. 
East and West-Indies, and almost from Pole to Pole ; besides what they 
have received from the very mouths of divers professors, public ministers, 
great travellers, noblemen, and persons of the highest quality, who have 
not only frequented the assembly, but desired to be incorporated and 
inscribed into their number ; so little has his Majesty or the kingdom 
been diminished in their reputation by the Royal Society, to the reproach 
of our sordid adversaries. 

Never had the Republic of Letters so learned and universal a corres- 
pondence as has been procured and promoted by this Society alone, as 
not only the casual transactions of several years, filled with instances of the 
most curious and useful observations, make appear ; but, as I said, the 
many nuncupatory epistles to be seen in the fronts of so many learned 
volumes. There it is you will find Charles the Second placed among the 



TO THE READER. 



45 



heroes and demi-gods^ for his patrociny and protection. There you will 
see the numerous congratulations of the most learned foreigners, celebra- 
ting the happiness of our institution ; and that whilst other nations are 
still benighted under the dusky cloud, such a refulgent beam should give 
day to this blessed isle : And, certainly, it is not to be supposed that all 
these learned persons, of so many and divers interests as well as countries, 
should speak and write thus out of flattery, much less out of ignorance, 
being men of the most refined universal knowledge, as well as ingenuity ; 
but I should never end were I to pursue this fruitful topic. 

I have but one word more to add to conciliate the favour and esteem 
of our own Universities to an assembly of gentlemen, who, from them, 
acknowledge to have derived all their abilities for these laudable under- 
takings : Whatever is shining in them of most Christian, moral, and other- 
wise conspicuous, they confess as derived from that source and fountain, 
to which, on all occasions, they are not only ready to pay the tribute 
and obsequiousness of humble servants, but of sons and dutiful alumni. 
There is nothing- verily which they more desire than a fair and mutual 
correspondence between so near relations, and that they may be per- 
petually flourishing and fruitful in bringing forth, as they still do, supplies 
to Church and State in all its great capacities*. Finally, that they would 
regard the Royal Society as a colony of their own planting, and augur 
its success : And if, in these labours and arduous attempts, several inven- 
tions of present use and service to mankind (either detecting errors, 
illustrating and asserting truths, or propagating knowledge in natural 
things, and the visible works of God,) have been discovered ; as they 
envy not the communicating them to the world, so should they be 



* Since this Epistle was first written and published, the University of Oxford has insti- 
tuted and erected a Society for the promoting of Natural and Experimental Knowledge in 
concert with the Royal Society, with which they keep a mutual correspondence. This I 
mention, for that some malevolents had so far endeavoured to possess divers Members of 
the University, as if the Society designed nothing less than the undermining of that and 
other illustrious academies, and which indeed so far prevailed, as to breed a real jealousy 
for some considerable time ; but as this was never in the thoughts of the Society, which 
had ever the Universities in the greatest veneration, so the innocency and usefulness of its 
institution has at length disabused them, vindicated their proceedings, dissipated all sur- 
mises, and, in fine, produced an ingenuous, friendly, and candid union and correspondence 
between them. 

G 



46 



TO THE READER. 



wanting to the Society, and to the honour of divers learned and ingenious 
persons, who are the soul and body of it, not to vindicate them from the 
ambitious plagiary, the insults of scoffers and injurious men. Certainly, 
persons of right noble and subacted principles, who are lovers of their 
country, should be otherwise aifected, and rather strive to encourage and 
promote endeavours tending to so generous a design, than decry it ; 
especially when it costs them nothing but their civility to so many 
obliging persons, though they should hitherto have entertained them but 
with some innocent diversions. To conclude, we envy none their dues ; 
nay, we gratefully acknowledge any lights which we receive either from 
home or from abroad : we celebrate and record the names of those who 
give them amongst our benefactors ; recommend them to the public ; ' 
and what we thus freely give, we hope as freely to receive. 

Thus have I endeavoured to vindicate the Royal Society from some 
aspersions and encroachments it hitherto has suffered, and showed under 
what weights and pressure this palm does still emerge ; and if, for all this, 
I fall short of my attempt, I shall yet have this satisfaction, that though 
I derive no glory from my own abilities, sensible of my great defects, I 
shall yet deserve their pardon for my zeal to its prosperity. 

I A O 2 O <I' I A2 i-ariOvjjieTi; l napa.a-Mvoi'l^a avrlOiv, ti; v.alayi\a<707i<TO[A€yoq, Kola- 
fAay.via-ofji.ivav am ntoWZv a<; iptivlav, oti ccqivco <ptKo<ro(poq '/jf/iv e-arai/eX'qXvSe, v.ai nodfv rj/Mv avT/j 
yj o<ppv<; ; (TV Se otppi/j/ iJ.lv jM\ (rxoi' twv Se ^eXTi^cov (Toi (paivoj/.evoii/ sra; ep^e, aq im ts 
0e5 Ttlayy-ivoq ei? Toir-qv -r-qv ia.^iv' \/.iiJ.Yq<TO 1\ oti la,v y.\v ^f/.^iivrii; roTq avroii;, ol y.ccra- 
■yeXSv/f'i tra irporepoi/, {stoI (T6 t^eoov ^avyAirovicn' ea,v 'qrTqSrfq avTU)/, ^iitXuv TTOoaX-qipTj 

xarayeXuTa . E PICTETUS. 



TRANSLATION. 

" If you resolve to make wisdom and virtue the study and business of 
your life, you must be sure to arm yourself before-hand against all the 
inconveniences and discouragements that are like to attend this resolu- 
tion. Imagine that you shall meet Avith many scoffs, and much 
derision ; and that people will upbraid you with turning philosopher 
all on the sudden ; and ask in scorn, A¥hat is the meaning of all this 
affected gravity, and these disdainful looks ? But be not you affected, 



TO THE READER. 



47 



or supercilious, only stick close to whatever you are in your judgment 
convinced is virtuous and becoming ; and consider this as your proper 
station, assigned you by God, which you must not quit upon any terms. 
And remember, that if you persevere in goodness, those very men, 
who derided you at first, will afterwards turn your admirers : But if 
you give way to their reproaches, and are vanquished by them, you 
will then render yourself doubly, and most deservedly ridiculous." 

STANHOPE. 

Some men, like Lucian in religion, seek, by their wit, to traduce 
" and expose useful things, because, to arrive at them, they converse 
" with mean experiments ; but those who despise to be employed in 
ordinary and common matters, never arrive at solid perfection in 
" experimental knowledge." lord verulam. 



J.EVELYN. 



G2 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



.AlS I have frequently inserted divers historical and other passages, ap- 
posite and agreeable to the subject, abstaining from a number more 
which I might have added, let it be remembered that I did not altoge- 
ther compile this work for the sake of our ordinary rustics, mere 
foresters and woodmen, but for the benefit and diversion of gentlemen 
and persons of quality, who often refresh themselves in these agreeable 
toils of planting and gardening : for the rest, I may perhaps in some 
places, have made use of here and there a word, not as yet so familiar to 
every reader ; but none, that I know of, which are not sufficiently ex- 
plained by the context and discourse. That this may yet be no preju- 
dice to the meaner capacities, let them read for 

Ahlaqueation, laying bare the roots. 

Amputation, cutting quite off. 

Arhorator, pruner, or one that has care of the trees. 

Avenue, the principal walk to the front of the house or seat. 

Bulbs, round or onion-shaped roots. 

Calcine, burn to ashes. 

Compost, dung. 

Conservatory, green-house to keep choice plants in. 

Contr' Espalier, a palisade, or pole-hedge. 

Coronary Garden, flower-garden. 

Culinary, belonging to the kitchen, roots, salading, &c. 

Culture, dressing. 

Decorticate, to strip off the bark. 

Emuscation, cleansing it of the moss. 

Esculent, roots, salads, &c. fit to eat. 

Espaliers, wall-fruit trees. 

Exotics, outlandish, rare and choice. 

Fermentation, working. 



50 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



Fibrous, stringy. 

Frondaiion, stripping off leaves and boughs. 

Heterogeneous, repugnant. 

Homogeneous, agreeable. 

Hyemation, protection in winter. 

Ichnograpliy, ground-plot. 

Inoculation, budding. 

Incision, graffing. 

Insolation, exposing to the sun. 

Interlucation, thinning and disbranching of a wood. 

Irrigation, watering. 

Lahoratory, still-house. 

Letation, dung. 

Lixivium, lee. 

Mural, belonging to the wall. 

Olitory, belonging to the kitchen-garden. 

Palisade, pole -hedge. 

Parterre, flower-garden^ or knots. 

Perennial, continuing all the year. 

Quincunx, trees set like the cinque-point of a die. 

Rectify, re-distil. 

Seminary, nursery. 

Stercoration, dunging. 

Tonsile, that which may be shorn or cUpped. 

Topiary -Worhs, the clipping, cutting, and forming of hedges, hcQ. 

into figures and works. 
Vernal, belonging to the spring. 

The rest are obvious. 



'EI2 THN TOY HATPOS 



AENAPOAOriAN. 

'T,(Av^<7£e) ewceco-jv apif-evovla yea^ySy. 
'Oiipavf/]v rava/^i sipeTrjv ipvo<; av-vii; typaypey, 
Kal 'KQTo.nZv yivirjv Zfvtpuv v.ara. ha.<TV.kov vk^y. 
'A&avaTW yivdiiro^ e/j veqyiXriyepiTa. Ze'j?, 
'^E^x'" iiy^poio (ptXaii 'upa.'srliicrcriv teXiap, 
i'vXKoii; t' ajA^poffiOK; ^aXe^at; dpvoi; ii^etpctyiiiTo. 

'l^opr/]v SevSpojv TeXeercj/ rpptai ywddXiy.oio't, 
'TXoyev'^f, KVjirapo(, i'Trelpoxoi;, o? jMey' oyeiap 
''AvS^ccitjv eq-a-o/Aevoti Kola yalyjy TCuXv^iretpccV) 

JO. EVELYN, iiL. 



I 



« 

• 



S 1 L V A: 

o B, 

A DISCOURSE OF FOREST-TREES, 

AND 

THE PROPAGATION OF TIMBER IN HIS MAJESTY'S 

DOMINIONS, &c. 



Tuque ades, inceptumque una decurre laborem, 
O decus, 6 famae raerito pars maxima nostrae, 
Carolide, pelagoque volans da vela patent! : 
Da facilem cursum, atque audacibus annua cceptis ; 
Ignarosque viae mecum miseratus agrestes, 
Ingredere, et votis jam nunc assuesce vocari. 



THE INTRODUCTION. 

1. Since there is nothing which seems more fatally to threaten a weak- introd. 
ening, if not a dissolution, of the strength of this famous and flourishing ^'^'"v"^ 
nation, than the sensible and notorious decay of her Wooden Walls, 
when, either through time, negligence, or other accident, the present 
navy shall be worn out and impaired ; it has been a very worthy and 
seasonable advertisement in the honourable the principal Officers and 
Commissioners, what they have lately suggested to this illustrious Society 
for the timely prevention and redress of this intolerable defect. For it 
Volume I. H 



2 



A DISCOURSE 



INTROD. has not been the late increase of shipping alone, the multiplication of 
glass-works, iron-furnaces, and the like, from whence this impolitic di- 
minution of our timber lias proceeded ; but from the disproportionate 
spreading of tillage, caused through that prodigious havock made by such 
as lately professing tliemselves against root and branch, (either to be re- 
imbursed their holy purchases, or for some other sordid respect,) were 
tempted not only to fell and cut down, but utterly to extirpate, demolish, 
and raze, as it were, all those many goodly woods and forests, which our 
more prudent ancestors left standing for the ornament and service of their 
country. And this devastation is now become so epidemical, that unless 
some favourable expedient offer itself, and a way be seriously and speedily 
resolved upon, for a future store, one of the most glorious and consider- 
able bulwarks of this nation will, within a short time, be totally wanting 
to it \ 



* In order to trace the history of the decay of our forest-trees, it will be necessary to 
remark, that the first attack made upon them, of any material consequence, was in the 27th 
year of the reign of Henry VIII, when that monarch seized upon the church-lands, and 
converted them, together with their woods, to his own use. Ruinous as such an attempt 
might appear at first, it did not bring with it any very pernicious consequences, as the 
whole kingdom, at that early period, was plentifully stocked with all kinds of timber-trees, 
especially the Oak. During the Civil War, which broke out in 16'42, and all the time of 
the Inter-regnum, the Royal Forests, as well as the Woods of the Nobility and Gentry, 
suffered a great calamity ; insomuch that many extensive forests had, in a few years, hardly 
any memorial left of their existence but their names. From that period to the present, 
there is some reason to apprehend that the persons appointed to the superintendence of 
the Royal Forests and Chases have not strictly and diligently attended to their charge, 
otherwise the nation would not at this day have reason to complain of the want of Oak, for 
the purposes of increasing and repairing the Royal Navy. This loss, however, would not 
have operated so severely, had the principal Nobihty and Gentry been as solicitous to 
plant, as to cut down their woods. But this reflection should be made with some degree of 
limitation, as several thousand acres of waste land have, within these twenty years, been 
planted for the benefit of the rising generation. The Society of Arts, &c. established in 
London in the year 1754, have greatly contributed, by their honorary and pecuniary pre- 
miums, to restore the spirit for Planting ; and I flatter myself, that a republication of Mr. 
Evelyn's Silva will also contribute to that most desirable end. Tusser, a versifier in the 
reign of Henry the Eighth, complains, at that early period, « that men were more studious 
to cut down than to plant trees :" And as this author is often quoted by Mr. Evelyn, it will 
be proper to remark that his book is entitled Five hundred Points of Husbandry, and is printed 
in black letter. It is written in quatrains, or stanzas, of four verses each, and con tarns 



» 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



3 



2. To attend now a spontaneous supply of these decayed materials 
(which is the vulgar and natural way) would cost (besides the inclosure) 
some entire ages repose of the plough *, though bread indeed doth require 
our first care : therefore the most expeditious and obvious method would 
doubtless be one of these two ways, sowing or planting. But, first, it 
will be requisite to agree upon the species ; as what trees are likely to 
be of greatest use, and the fittest to be cultivated ; and then, to consider 
of the manner how it may be best effected. Truly the waste and de- 
struction of our woods has been so universal, that I conceive nothing 
less than an universal plantation of all the sorts of trees will supply, and 
well encounter the defect ; and therefore I shall here adventure to speak 
something in general of them all ; though I chiefly insist upon the pro- 
pagation of such only as seem to be the most wanting and serviceable to 
the end proposed. 

S. And first, by trees here, I consider principally for the Genus gene- 
ralissimum, such lignous and woody plants as are hard of substance, pro- 



more lines than Virgil's Georgics. The first edition was published in 1562. There are 
other editions in 1 604<, and 1 672 ; also in 1 710, and 1743, with notes and observations.— 
Every thing that has a tendency towards the raising and diffusing a spirit for planting, is 
highly meritorious ; and as our Wooden Walls have been esteemed, for many ages past, the 
bulwarks of this nation, we may hope from the goodness of our august sovEnEiGN, that 
he will set an example to the nobility and men of large possessions, by ordering his wastes 
to be planted with Timber-trees, especially the Oak : 

nourish there 

Those sapling Oaks, which at Britannia's call. 
May heave their trunks mature into the main. 

And float the bulwarks of her liberty. mason. 

The wants of the nation call for this supply. How many thousand acres of waste land 
are there in this kingdom, that at this present time produce nothing, but may be profitably 
improved by planting ! Did men of large possessions but rightly consider this, they would 
carefully look over their estates, search out every useless bog, and plant it with Poplars or 
other aquatics. They would examine all the waste grounds, and set apart some for the 
cottagers, and apply the most barren and useless for plantations. Was such a generous 
spirit to prevail, we should hear few persons complaining that their ancient Common- 
rights ate invaded, and that their extreme necessities have obliged them to emigrate to 
countries far less hospitable than their own. 

H2 



INTROD. 



• Patricius 
De Repub. 



4 A DISCOURSE 

INTROD. cere of stature ; that are thick and solid, and stiffly adhere to the ground 
on which they stand These we shall divide into the greater and more 



^ A Tree is defined to be a perennial plant, which rises to a very great height, with a 
simple, woody, and durable Stem, or Trunk. By these characters Trees are distinguished, 
with gi'eat accuracy, from Herbs, whose stems are frequently compound, herbaceous, or 
succulent, and die down to the root every year. It is evident from the characters just 
enumerated, that all trees are perennial. Herbs are either annual, that is, of one year's 
duration ; or biennial, of two : those only are perennial, whose roots, not perishing with 
the stems, continue a long time under the surface of the ground, and put forth a new stem 
every yeai*. Upon these obvious and striking differences was founded the very ancient 
division of vegetables into herbs and trees; though, perhaps, that distinction was princi- 
pally suggested by the difference of size and duration of the plants in question. Be that 
as it may, the division has been esteemed so natural and spontaneous, that, from the time 
of Aristotle and Theophrastus to the present age, it has obtained a principal place in 
almost every system, except that of Linnaeus, which mixes herbs, shrubs, and trees pro- 
miscuously together. But this is evidently to preserve the harmony of his system, which 
is solely founded on the fructification of every individual Genus and Species. We may 
therefore easily discover the reason of Linnaeus's overlooking every other idea that did not 
fall in with his own, and of his affirming, that, in this particular, Nature has put no limits 
between trees and shrubs. Among the celebrated names in botany, which have retained 
the ancient distinction, are numbered Casalpinus, the Father of Systematic Botany ; Morison, 
Hermannus, Christopher Knaut, Boerhaave, Ray, Pontedera, and Tournefort. The 
latter, rather than admit a division, through custom become necessary, chose to hurt the 
elegance and uniformity of his plan ,• and, in fact, spun out into twenty-two classes, what, 
without such division, might have been easily comprised in seventeen. On the opposite 
side are ranged Rivinus, Christian Knaut, Linnaeus, Ludwig, and other names of less note. 
The distinction into Trees and Shrubs, thougii of equal antiquity, is neither so obvious, 
nor are its limits so accurately ascertained. In fact, of the numerous characteristic dif- 
ferences which have been suggested by botanical writers, not one is perfectly satisfactory. 
To say with Tournefort, that trees are universally taller than shrubs, is, in effect, saying 
nothing, unless a certain fixed, immutable standard were previously established. Besides, 
every thing respecting dimension is so variable in its nature, and depends so much upon 
difference of climate, soil, and management, that were a standard of this kind attempted 
to be established, the greatest confusion would ensue ; and the same plant in different 
countries, and even, in opposite soils in the same country, would receive different appel- 
lations, according as it exceeded, or came short of the given standard. Thus the ricinus, 
or palma Christi ; the dwarf rosebay, rhododendron ; the strawberry-tree, arhutus ; and several 
others, which grow to the size of very large trees in warm climates, are, in this country, 
equalled and even exceeded in height by many of our smallest shrubs. The difference of 
soil and culture in the same climate, produces a like diversity in dimension. Thus, to 
take an example from herbaceous vegetables, the marigold, which, in a fat and moist 



OF FOREST-TREES. 5 

ceduouSj fruticant and shrubby ; feras and wild ; or more civilized and INTROD. 
domestic ; and such as are sative and hortensial subalternate to the other ; 
but of which I give only a touch, distributing the rest into these two 
classes, the dry and the aquatic ; both of them applicable to the same 
civil uses of building, utensils, ornament, and fuel : for to dip into their 
medicinal virtues is none of my province, though I sometimes glance at 
them with due submission, and in few instances =. 

4. Among the Dry, I esteem the more principal and solid to be, the 
Oak, Elm, Beech, Ash, Chestnut, Walnut, &c. ; the less principal, the 
Service, Maple, Lime-tree, Horn-beam, Quick-beam, Birch, Hasel, &c. 
together with all their subalternate and several kinds : 

Sed neque quam multae species, nec nomina quae sint. 
Est Humerus ; neque enim numero comprendere refert : 
Quem qui scire velit, Lybici velit sequoris idem 

Discere, quam multae Zephiro turbentur arense. virg. georg. ii. 

I pass the rest, whose ev'ry race and name. 
And kinds are less material to my theme : 
Which who would learn, as soon may tell the sands, 
Driv'n by the western winds on Lybian lands. 



earth, rises two feet high, scarce exceeds the same number of inches in a dry and gravelly 
soil. The learned Dr. Alston, in his Tyrocimum Botanicum, wishes to considet the distinction 
into Trees and Shrubs, as a true natural distinction, and endeavours to trace its foundation 
in the internal structure of the plants themselves. All trees, says he, whether they bear 
buds or not, are covered with two barks, the outer and inner, called by botanists 
co7-tex and liber. Shrubs differ from herbaceous vegetables in the duration of their stems ; 
from trees in the nature of their covering, which is not a bark, but a cuticle or simple skin. 
This thought is ingenious ; but the fact on which it depends is not sufficiently ascertained. 
The farther distinction into shrubs and under-shrubs, which is exceedingly arbitrary and 
indeterminate, was first suggested by Clusius, in a work entitled, Rariores et Exoticoe 
Plantce, published in 1576 ,• and afterwards adopted by Caesalpinus, and others. 

In this Mr. Evelyn imitates Virgil, who, in a few instances, gives the medicinal virtues 
of trees and shrubs : 

Ipsa ingens arbos, faciemque simillima Lauro : 
Et, si non aliiim late jactaret odorem, 
Laurus erat : folia baud ullis labentia ventis : 
* Flos apprima tenax : animas et olentia Medi 

Ora fovent illo, et senibus medicantur anhelis: georg. lib. ii. 1.131. 



6 



A DISCOURSE 



INTROD. Q Of the Aquatical, I reckon the Poplars, Asp, Alder, Willow, Sal- 
low, Osier, ke. Then I shall add a word or two for the encouragement 
of the planting of fruit-trees, together with some less vulgar, but no less 
useful trees, which, as yet, are not endenizened amongst us, or, at least 
not much taken notice of; and, in pursuance hereof, I shall observe 
this order : First, to show how they are to be raised, and then cultivated. 
By raising, I understand the seed and the soil ; by culture, the planting, 
fencing, watering, dressing, pruning, and cutting : of all which briefly. 

6. And first for their raising : Some there are 

Spring of themselves, unforc'd by human care ; 

nuUis hominum cogentibus, ipsae sponte sua veniunt 

Specified according to the various disposition of the air and soil 

Some from their seeds arise ; 

Pars autem posito surgunt de semine : 

As the Oak, Chestnut, Ash, &cc. 

Some to thick groves from their own roots do spring ; 
Pullulat ab radice aliis densissima sylva : 

As the Elm, Alder, &c. And others 

Grow without root ; 
Nil radicis egent 

As WiUows, and aU the vimineous kinds, which are raised by sets only. 

These ways first Nature gave. 
Hos natura modos primum dedit. 

And all this the immortal Poet has so elegantly and comprehensibly 
described, as I cannot pass : 

Principio arboribus varia est Natura creandis. 
Namque alise, nullis hominum cogentibus, ipsEe 
Sponte sua veniunt, camposque et flumina late 
Curva tenent : ut molle siler, lentaeque genista;, 
Populus et glauca canentia fronde salicta. 
Pars autem posito surgunt de semine : ut altae 
Castaneae, nemorumque Jovi quae maxima frondet 
iEsculus, atque habitae Graiis oracula quercus. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



7 



PuUulat ab radice aliis densissima sylva ; 
Ut cerasis, ulmisque : etiara Parnassia laurus 
Parva sub ingenti matris se subjicit urabi-a. 
Hos natura modos primutn dedit : his genus omne 
Sylvarum fruticumque viret, nemorumque sacrorum. 
Sunt alii, quos ipse via sibi repperit usus. 

Some trees their birth to bounteous Nature owe : 
For some without the pains of planting grow. 
With Osiers thus the banks of brooks abound. 
Sprung from the wat'ry genius of the ground : 
From the same principles gray Willows come ; 
Herculean Poplar, and the tender Broom. 
But some from seeds inclos'd in earth arise: 
For thus the mast-ful Chestnut mates the skies. 
Hence rise the branching Beech, and vocal Oak 
Where Jove of old oi'aculously spoke. 
Some from the root a rising wood disclose ; 
Thus Elms, and thus the salvage Cherry grows. 
Thus the green Bays, that binds the poet's brows, 
Shoots, and is shelter'd by the mother's boughs. 
These ways of planting Nature did ordain. 
For Trees and Shrubs, and all the Sylvan reign. 
Others there are, by late experience found :— 

Thus we see there are more ways to the wood than one, and Nature has 
furnished us with variety of expedients. 

7. And here we might fall into a deep philosophical research, whether 
the earth itself in some place thereof or other, even without seed, branch 
or root, &c. would produce every kind of vegetable, as it manifestly does 
divers sorts of grass and plants ; viz. the Trefoil, or Clover, in succulent 
land ; in dry ground, May and Ragweeds ; in the very moist, Ros solis_, 
Argentina, Flags, &c. ; and in the very barren. Fern, Broom, Heath, &c. 
So Virgil notes sterile places for the Pitch-tree <i ; we our wet and uligi- 



^ Virgil, with great judgment, describes sterile grounds, by enumerating the plants that 
naturally grow in such places : There, 

piceae tantum taxique nocentes 

Interdum, aut hederje pandunt vestigia nigra. georg. 
Mr. Bell in his " Journey from St. Petersburgh to Ispahan," remarks, that those places in 
the country of the Tongusi, on which the Scotch Fir naturally grows, are always fruitful 



INTROD. 



VIRG. GEORG. 11. 



8 



A DISCOURSE 



TROD, nous, for the Birch, Alder, &c. The more lofty, poor, and perflatile, for 
Yew, Juniper, Box, and the like. And we read in the natural histories 
of divers countries, that the Cedar, Palmetos, Queen-Pines, Ebony, Nut- 
meg, Cinnamon, &ic. for trees ; the Tulip, Hyacinth, Crocus, &c. for 
flowers ; are sometimes, and in some regions, Aborigines, descended 
immediately from the genius of the soils, climate, sun, shade, air, winds, 
the water, nitrous salts, rocks, banks, shores, and (like the Negroes-heads 
in Barbadoes) as some imagine, even without seed, or at least any perceptible 
rudiment. Let it not then be imputed an impertinent digression, if, 
upon this occasion of spontaneous and sequivocal productions % we men- 



in corn ; but where the Pitch-tree is seen, the land is barren. Vol. I. p. 232. — And 
Dr. Douglas, in his " Historical and Political Summary of the British Settlements in 
North America," says, that the quality of the lands in New England is thus known by the 
produce. " In the best lands are Chestnuts and Walnuts, next is Beech and White Oak, 
lower is Fir, then Pitch Pines, then Whortles, or Huckleberry Plains ; lastly, some marshy 
Shrubs, low and imperfect, being the lowest degree of Suffrutex vegetation." Vol. II. p. ^15. 

^ It is no wonder that some should suppose vegetables capable of being produced with- 
out their parent seeds, when it was once held as a reasonable doctrine that animals, such 
as maggots, flies, &c. might be generated by putrefaction. We are taught by glasses, that 
all animals, however minute, are organized ; and we have convincing proofs that they are 
also regulated by the same general laws that direct the ceconomy of the larger animals. 
Could putrefaction give birth to an organized animal, the order of Nature, established at 
the begitming of the world, would by this time have been overturned, and scarce one 
species of animals or plants which were the objects of Solomon's attention, would at this 
day be visible upon the face of the earth. A Horse might as well spring from a Dunghill, 
as a Fly ; and the brawny Oak might as readily be produced by a ferment in the earth, as 
the Trefoil and Ragweed described by Mr. Evelyn. Before putrefaction can produce the 
greater wonder, it must be able to produce the lesser ; and who ever saw a repeating 
watch, or a musical clock, created by the ferment of a dunghill ! 

— — ^— — — nil semine egeret: 

E mare primum liomines, e terra posset oriri 
Squammigerum genus, et volucres ; erumpere coelo 
Armenta, atqiie alise pecudes ; genus omne ferarum 
In'certo partu culta, ac deserta teneret: 
Nec fructus iidem arboribus constare solerent, 

Sed mutarentur: ferre omnes omnia possent. lucret. lib. i. 1.162. 

This doctrine of spontaneous, or equivocal generation, was originally invented in Egypt, 
with a view to solve the pha?nomenon of the numerous swarms of flies and insects that 
were generated upon the surface of the mud left by the waters of the Nile. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



9 



tion how that inveterate dispute, which has exercised so many Natu- INTIIOD. 
ralists and Philosophers (about Misleto) has lately been decided by an ^^^V^* 
evident experiment, and the testimony of the most curious and learned 
Botanists, by the seeds of that excrescence ; which being inserted into 
an hole made in the bark of the White Poplar, produces the plant which 
has hitherto raised so many years controversy ^ (See Mr. Ray's Hist. 
Plant, p. 1583 ; and Appendix, p. 1918.) 

f The mistletoe, instead of rooting and growing in the earth, like other plants, fixes itself 
and takes root on the branches of trees. It spreads out with many branches, and forms a 
large bush. It is commonly found upon the white thorn, the apple, the crab, the ash, and 
maple, but is rarely seen upon the oak ; which last kind, as Mr. Ray well observes, was 
chiefly esteemed in medicine, owing to the superstitious honours which the ancient Druids 
of this island paid to that plant when gathered there. This is a parasitical plant, and is 
always produced from seed. Some of the ancients called it an excrescence on the tree, 
growing without seed ; which opinion is now fully confuted by a number of experiments. 
It is the opinion of some, that it is propagated by the mistletoe thrush, which, feeding upon 
the berries, leaves the seeds with its dung upon the branches of the respective trees where 
the plant is commonly found. Others say, that as the berries are extremely glutinous, the 
seeds frequently stick to the beaks of those birds, which being rubbed off -upon the 
branches of trees, they become inoculated, as it were, and take root. In the same 
manner the mistletoe may be propagated by art ; for if the berries, when full ripe, be 
rubbed upon the smooth part of the bark of some trees, they will adhere closely, and 
produce plants the following winter. In the garden belonging to the late Mr. James 
Collins of Knaresbrough, there were many large plants of the mistletoe, produced in this 
manner upon the dwarf apple-tree : And there is at this time in my garden in York, a fine 
plant of mistletoe, growing upon a dwarf apple-tree, which I produced by inoculation a 
few years ago. Of mistletoe, we have only one species growing in Europe, viz. Viscum 
(album) foliis lanceolatis obtusis, caule dichotomo, spicis axillaribus, Lin. Sp. Plant. 1451. 
Mistletoe uilh blunt spear-shaped leaves, forked stalks, and spikes of Jlowers rising from the 
wings of the stalks. Viscum baccis albis, C. B. P. 423. Mistletoe with white berries. 

The gathering of the mistletoe made a part of the religious worship of the Druids. 
When the end of the year approached, they marched with great solemnity to gather it, in 
order to present it to Jupiter, inviting all the world to assist at the ceremony in these 
words : " The new year is at hand, gather the mistletoe." The sacrifices being ready, the 
priest ascended the oak, and with a golden hook cut off the mistletoe, which was received 
in a white garment spread for that purpose. This part of the ceremony being ended, 
the victims, two white bulls that never had been yoked, were brought forth and offered 
up to the Deity, with prayers that he would prosper those to whom he had given so 
precious a boon. Of the mistletoe, thus gathered, they made a potion which they admini- 
stered as an antidote to all poisons, and used as a remedy to prevent sterility. Besides the 
mistletoe, the Druids ritually gathered the Selago, or Firr club-moss, and the Samolus, or 
Round-leaved Watered Pimpernel, both which they applied to medicinal purposes. It may 
Volume I. I 



10 A DISCOURSE 

INTROD. But, after all this, there are who suppose some previous seminal dis- 
""^^^^^ position to be lurking, and dispersed in every part of the earth (in what 
moleculae, or subtile contexture, they cannot discover) which though 
haply not at first so perfect as the maturer seeds of their after peculiar 
plants ; yet such as are fit for the sun and influences to operate on, till 
they have prepared, discussed, and excited the seminal and prolific virtue 
to exert itself and awake out of sleep, in which they lie as in their causes, 
freeing themselves from those impediments which hindered their speci- 
fication and nativity. This conception the learned Gassendus would 
illustrate by the latent fire in flints, which never betrays itself till it be 



here be remarked, that the Druids, in several of their religious ceremonies, had a delicacy 
superior to most of the ancients ; for in gathering the mistletoe they always used a golden 
hook : whereas, among other nations, a hook of brass was thought good enough for the 

like purposes : ^ 
Falcibus et messae ad hinam quaeruntur ahenis 

Pubentes herbae, iEN.lib.iv. 

Partim succidit curvamine falcis aenae ovid. met. lib. vii. 

In Sophocles, Medea is described as gathering her magic herbs with a brazen hook, 

and afterwards putting their juice into brazen pots. Virgil, with great poetical 

elegance, compares the golden bough to the mistletoe, on account of its being an adven- 
titious plant, and of a golden colour : 

Quale solet Sylvis brumali frigore viscum 
Fronde virere nova, quod non sua seminat arbos, 
Et croceo foetu teretes circumdare truncos. 
Talis erat species auri frondentis opaca 

nice ; sic leni crepitabat biactea vento. jEtf. lib. vi. 1. 209. 

The story of the golden bough shows that the Druids were not singular in attributing 
great magical powers to scarce and beautiful plants, ritually gathered , and offered to 
the Gods : 

Hoc sibi pulchra suum ferri Proserpina munus 

lustituit. . .EN. lib. vi. 1.142. 

^ Ergo alte vestiga oculis, et rite repertum 
Carpe manu ; — — — lb. 1.245. 

And here it may not be improper to remark, that ancient customs are a considerable 
time before they can be effaced, even in countries that have experienced the calamities of 
conquest; for in France, as Keysler infonns us, something of the Druidical ceremonies, 
relative to the mistletoe, subsists in the province of Aquitain. " In Aqultania quotannis 
" Prid. Kal. Jan. pueri atque adolescentes vicos, villasque obeunt, carmine stipem 
"petentes, sibique, atque aliis pro voto, in exordio novi anni acclamantes, Au Guy! 
" L'an neuf !" 



OF FOUEST-TREES. 11 

forced out by collision : but which yet, methinks, does not so fully enlighten inTROD. 
this hypothesis, which we only mention : for the design of this Discourse ^-^^V"^ 
is not to persuade men to sit still, and let Nature work alone, but to aid 
and assist her as much as they are able, from seeds and plants already 
perfected, and qualified for more speedy propagation. It is not in any 
sort my meaning throughout this Discourse, as if (where I speak of spon- 
taneous productions) I believed that any vegetables raised themselves 
without some predisposed qualified seed or principle : But by spontaneous, 
I understand such trees and plants as were not sown or cultivated by 
human industry : as most of our forest-trees never were, and yet had their 
original from perfect seeds. And if I think the same of all animals, 
even to the minutest worm and insect, there are so many learned persons 
and experiments to justify it, that I need say no more. Most ingenious, 
in the mean time, is what some, upon an accurate and narrow guess, 
have not feared to pronounce ; namely, that all planting by seed was but 
a kind of inoculation ; and propagation by cions and sprouts, but a 
subterranean grafting. And upon this account I am the more willing to 
assent, that, in removing of wild trees taken out of incumbered places, 
(so it be performed with all due circumstances,) there may happen con- 
siderable improvements ; since as there is something in super-graffing, or 
the repetition of graffing, for the enlargement and melioration of fruit, 
so there may be also in a careful removal ; especially the tree being of a 
kind apt to dilate its roots_, and taken whilst those roots may be safely and 
entirely transferred ; and likewise, because it is presumed that most 
trees, propagated by seeds, emit a principal root very deep into the earth, 
which frequently extracting but a coarser nutriment (though it may haply 
yield a close and firmer timber) is not yet so apt to shoot and spread^ as 
what are by removal deprived of that root ; and by being more impreg- 
nate with the sun, dews, and heavenly influences near the surface, 
enabled to produce larger, more delicate, and better tasted fruit ; sup- 
posing nuts, mast, or berries ; for we would not go out of our forest for 
instances ; and yet even in these descents of the tap-root, it sometimes 
penetrating to a vein of some rich marl or other mould, the extraordinary 
flourishing and expedition of growth will soon give notice of it. But to 
make some trial of this, it were no difficult matter, when one plants a 
nursery or grove, to experiment what the earth, as far as the roots are 
like to reach, will advance and discover to us. 

I 2 



13 



A DISCOURSE 



INTROD. 8. In the mean time, it has been stiffly controverted by some, whether 
"■'^'y'^ it were better to raise trees for timber and the like uses, from their seeds 
and first rudiments ; or to transplant such as we find have either raised 
themselves from their seeds, or sprung from the mother-roots. Now that 
to produce them immediately of the seed is the better way, these reasons 
may seem to evince. 

JFi?'st, Because they take soonest. Secondly, Because they make the 
straightest and most uniform shoot, IViii'dhj, Because they will neither 
require staking nor watering, which are two very considerable articles. 
And, lastly. For that all transplanting, (though it much improves fruit- 
trees,) unless they are taken up the first year or two, is a considerable 
impediment to the growth of forest-trees : And though it be true, that 
divers of those w^hich are found in woods, especially oaklings, young 
beeches, ash, and some others, spring from the self-sown mast and keys ; 
yet being for the most part dropped, and disseminated among the half- 
rotten sticks, musty leaves, and perplexities of the mother-roots, they 
grow scraggy, and, being over-dripped, become squalid and apt to 
gather moss : 

Crescentique adimunt foetus, uruntque ferentem. geor. lib. ii. 

Which checks their growth, and makes their bodies pine. 

Nor can their roots expand, and spread themselves as they would do, if 
they were sown, or had been planted in a more open, free, and ingenuous 
soil. And that this is so, I do affirm upon experience, that an acorn, 
sown by hand in a nursery, or ground where it may be free from these 
incumbrances, shall in two or three years outstrip a plant of twdce that 
age, which has either been self-sown in the woods, or removed, unless it 
fortune, by some favourable accident, to have been scattered into a rnore 
natural, penetrable, and better qualified place ; but this disproportion is 
yet infinitely more remarkable in the Pine and the Walnut-tree, where 
the nut, set into the ground, does usually overtake a tree of ten years 
growth which was planted at the same instant ; and this is a secret so gene- 
rally misrepresented by most of those who have treated of these sorts of 
trees, that I could not suffer it to pass over without a particular remark ; 
so as the noble poet (with pardon for receding from so venerable autho- 
rity) might be mistaken, when he delivers this observation as universal, 
to the prejudice of sowing, and raising woods from their rudiments : 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



13 



Jam, quae seminibus jactis se sustulit arbos. 
Tarda venit, seris factura nepotibus umbram. 

Trees, which from scatter'd seeds to spring are made. 
Come slowly on for our grand-children's shade. 

And, indeed, I know divers are of this opinion ; and possibly in some 
luckier soils, and where extraordinary care is had in transplanting and 
removing cumbrances, &c. there may be reason for it : But I affirm it 
for the most part, and find I have the suffrage of another no inelegant 
poet, if not in a full assent to my assertion, yet in the choice of my pro- 
cedure for their perfection : 

Quamvis ipsa de stirpe parentis 
PuUulet, et tenues tollat se quercus in auras, 
Aut mutata solo, ramis exsultet opacis ; 
Forma tamen nemoris non sit mihi gratior uUa, 
Quam quod per campos, poslto de setnine, crevit. 
Et quamquam sit agro prselongum tempus inerti 
Durandum, ac tardae surgant de semine quercus. 
His tamen, his longe veniunt felicius umbrae. 
Nam certum est de glande satas radicibus imis 
Altius in terram per se descendere plantas : 
Majoresque adeo in coelum profundere ramos. 
Seu quod dediscant mutatam semina matrem, 
Degeneremque ferant alieno ex ubere prolem : 
Sive quod ipsa sibi cognatae inolescere terrae 

Glans primo melius paulatim assuevit ab ortu. rapin. Horl. 

.Though suckers which the stock repair. 
Will with thick branches crowd the empty air ; 
Or the ground-oak transplanted, boughs may shoot ; 
Yet no such grove does with my fancy suit. 
As what from acorns set on even rows. 
In open fields at their due distance grows. 
What though your ground long time must fallow lie. 
And seedling-oaks yield but a slow supply ? 
No walks else can be for like beauty prais'd: 
For certain 'tis that plants from acorns rais'd. 
As to the centre deeper fibi'es spread. 
So to the Zenith more advance their head : 
Be it that plants for natural moisture pine. 
And as expos'd, at change of soil decline ; 
Or that the acorn with its native mould. 
Does thrive and spread, and firm alliance hold. 



INTROD. 



GEOR. lib. ii. 



DENDROLOGI A. 

BOOK THE FIRST. 



CHAPTER I. 

Of the Earth, Soil, Seed, Ai?', and JVate?'. 

BOOK I. 1. It is not my intention here to speak of Earth, as one of the common 
"^^J^g^p^ reputed elements, of which I have long since published an ample 
account in an express treatise ^ which I desire my reader to peruse, 
since it might well commute for the total omission of this chapter, did 
not method seem to require something briefly to be said. And first, as 
to that of Earth, we shall need at present to penetrate no deeper into her 
bosom than paring off the turf, scarifying the upper mould, and digging 
convenient pits and trenches, not far from the natural surface, without 
disturbing the several strata and remoter layers, whether of clay, chalk, 
gravel, sand, or other successive layers, and concretes fossil, (all of them 
useful sometimes, and agreeable to our foresters, though few of them 
what one would choose before the under turf, black, brown, gray, and 
light, and breaking into short clods, and without any disagreeable scent, 
and with some mixture of marl or loam, but not clammy,) of which I 
have particularly spoken in that treatise. 



SOIL, 2. In the mean time, this of the Soil being of great importance for the 
raising, planting, and propagation of trees in general, must at no hand 
be neglected ; and is therefore, on all occasions, mentioned in almost 
every chapter of our ensuing Discourse. I shall therefore not need to 
assign it any part, when I have affirmed in general, that most timber- 

e This valuable treatise is entitled " Terra ; or a Philosophical Discourse of Earth and 
was published at the request of the Royal Society in the year ] 679' It is republished at 
the end of this Work, with Notes and Observations. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



15 



trees grow and prosper well in any tolerable land which will produce CHAP. 1. 
com or rye, and which is not in excess stony, in which nevertheless 
some trees delight, or altogether clay, which few or none do naturally 
affect ; and yet the oak is seen to prosper in it, for its toughness pre- 
ferred before any other by many workmen ; though of all soils the cow- 
pasture doth certainly exceed, be it for what purpose soever of planting 
wood. Rather therefore we should take notice how many great wits 
and ingenious persons, who have leisure and faculty, are in pain for im- 
provements of their heaths and barren hills, cold and starving places, 
which causes them to be neglected and despaired of ; whilst they flatter 
their hopes and vain expectations with fructifying liquors ^ chymical 



The steeping of seeds in prolific liquors is not of modern invention. The Romans, 
V who were good husbandmen, have left us several receipts for steeping of grain, in order 

to increase the powers of vegetation. In England, France, Italy, and in all countries 
where agriculture has been attended to, we see a variety of liquors recommended for the 
same purpose. Good nourishment has ever been observed to add strength and vigour to 
all vegetables. Hence it was natural to suppose that, by filling the vessels of the grain 
with nourishing liquors, the germ, with its roots, would be invigorated. How far this 
reasoning is founded upon just principles, remains to be examined. For my part, I am 
not an advocate for steeps. All my experiments demonstrate that they have no inherent 
virtue. I have more than once sown the same seed, steeped and unsteeped, and though 
aU other circumstances were minutely alike, yet I never could observe the least difference 
in the growth of the crop. I confess that when the light seeds are skimmed off, as in the 
operation of brining, the crop will be improved, and diseases prevented: but these 
advantages proceed from the goodness of the grain sown, and not from any prolific virtue 
of the steep. I am happy in not being singular in my objection to steeps. Many philo- 
sophical farmers have been induced to quit their prejudices, and are now convinced from 
their own trials, that thei*e is no dependence upon prolific liquors, though ever so well 
recommended. Some people have been hardy enough to persuade themselves, that the 
tillering of wheat may be so much increased by invigorating the grain, that only one half 
of the seed will be required. Duhamel, one of the most accurate of the experimental 
husbandmen, and a most excellent philosopher, speaks in the strongest terms, against the 
practice of steeping, so far as it supposes an impregnation of vegetative particles. I shall 
not here repeat his experiments : I shall only observe, that they are such as any farmer 
may make ; they are plain and conclusive. Good seed, when sown upon land in excellent 
tilth, will always produce a plentiful crop. The best of grain impregnated to the full 
with the most approved steep, and sown upon land indifferently prepared, will for ever 
disappoint the hopes of the farmer. I do not presume to condemn the practice in positive 
terms, because my experiments are against it. Other experiments may be opposed to 



16 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. menstruums, and such vast conceptions ; in the mean time that one may 
show them as lieathy and hopeless grounds, and barren hills as any in 
England, that do now bear, or lately have borne, woods, groves, and 
copses, which yield the owners more wealth than the richest and most 
opulent wheat-lands : And if it be objected, that it is so long a day before 



mine. I shall therefore rest the whole upon a description of what happens to grain after 
it has been committed to the earth ; and hope that I shall be able to explain myself with 
sufficient perspicuity. The subject is curious, and the discussion of it not very difficult. 

A grain of wheat contains, within two capsules, a considerable share of flour, which, 
when melted down into a liquor by the watery juices of the earth, constitutes the nourish- 
ment of the tender plant, until its roots are grown sufficiently large to absorb their own 
food. Here is evidently a store-house of nutriment. And from that idea it is plain that 
the plumpest grains are the most eligible for seed. Some imagine that poor grains may 
be so impregnated, as to make them equal in vegetative force to the largest. I have more 
than once made the experiment, and am convinced that plump seeds, of the same heap, 
are superior in goodness to the small ones, though ever so carefully macerated. The farina 
being the food of the embryo plant, it follows that the vegetative powers will be increased 
in proportion to its quantity. I have sprouted all kinds of grain in a variety of steeps, 
and can assure the farmer, that the radicle and germ never appeared so vigorous and 
healthy, as when sprouted by elementary water : an argument that the seed requires no 
assistance. The same steep, when applied in quantity to the soil, will undoubtedly 
invigorate the roots, and nourish the plant ; but in that case it operates in common with 
other manures, and loses the idea of a steep. As nitre, sea-salt, and lime, are generally 
added to the steeps, I have constantly observed that their application rendered the radicle 
and germ yellow and sickly : a plain proof that they were unnaturally used at that season. 
Did the farina need any additional particles, it might be supposed that bi'oth made of the 
flesh of animals would be the most agreeable. To be satisfied of that, I sprouted some 
grains in beef broth, and an equal number in simple water. The result was, that the 
radicle and germ produced by the broth were weaker, and less healthy, than the others 
sprouted by the pure element. They were afterwards sown, but I could perceive no 
apparent diffi?rence in the crop. As no invigorating or fructifying liquor, however pom- 
pously introduced, has ever stood the test of fair and correct experiment, we may venture 
to lay it down as an established truth, that plump seed clear of weeds, and land jvell prepared 
lo receive ii, will seldom disappoint the expectation of the farmer ; and upon these he should 
rely for the goodness of his crop. In this short dissertation upon steeps, or fructifying 
liquors, it should be remarked, that I have drawn my conclusions from experiments made 
upon grain, instead of the seeds of forest-trees, in full confidence that the general laws of 
vegetation are the same in every kind of seed, from the almost imperceptible seed of the 
Orchis to the Acorn of the Sovereign Oak. And I had this additional reason, that, in the 
course of a few months, I could make my observations upon the different stages of vege- 
tation, from the first appearance of the germ, to the final perfection of the plant. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 17 



these plantations can afford that gain, the Brabant nurseries, and divers CHAP. I. 
home-plantations of industrious persons, are sufficient to convince the ^^V^ 
gainsayer. And when, by this husbandry, a few Acorns shall have sup- 
plied the neighbouring regions with young stocks and trees, the residue 
will become groves, and copses of infinite delight and satisfaction to the 
planters. Besides, we daily see what coarse lands will bear these stocks, 
(suppose them Oaks, Walnuts, Chestnuts, Pines, Fir, Ash, Wild Pears, 
Crabs, &c.) and some of them (as for instance, the Pear and the Fir, or 
Pine) strike their roots through the roughest and most impenetrable rocks 
and clefts of stone itself; and others require not any rich or pinguid, but 
very moderate soil ; especially if committed to it in seeds, which allies 
them to their mother and nurse without renitency or regret : And then 
considering what assistances a little care in easing and stirring of the 
ground about them, for a few years, does afford them ; what cannot 
a strong plough, a winter mellowing, and summer heats, incorporated 
with the pregnant turf, or a slight assistance of lime, loam, sand, rotten 
compost, discreetly mixed, (as the case may require,) perform even in the 
most unnatural and obstinate soil ? And in such places where anciently 
woods have grown, but are now unkind to them, the fault is to be 
reformed by this care ; and chiefly by a sedulous extirpation of the old 
remainders of roots, and latent stumps, which, by their mustiness, and 
other pernicious qualities, sour the ground, and poison the conception : 
And herewith let me put in this note, that even an over-rich and pinguid 
composition is by no means the proper bed either for the seminary or 
nursery, whilst even the natural soil itself does frequently discover and 
point best to the particular species, though some are for all places alike ; 
nor should the earth be yet perpetually cropped with the same, or other 
seeds, without due repose, but lie some time fallow to receive the 
influence of heaven according to good husbandry. But I shall say no 



■ The ingenious Dr. Priestley, in a paper presented to the Royal Society in 1772, 
on different kinds of air, among many interesting and important discoveries, proves to a 
demonstration that the putrid air arising from" dunghills and the perspiration of animals, is 
not only absorbed by vegetables, but also adds to their increase. Though this power in 
vegetables was undoubtedly known long before the publication of the Doctor's philoso- 
phical works, yet, so far as I know, we had not any correct experiments, before his time, 
in proof of it. The world, therefore, is indebted to Dr. Priestley alone, for the experi- 
Volume I. K 



18 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. more of these particulars at this time, because the rest are sprinkled over 
this whole Work in their due places ; wherefore we hasten to the follow- 
ing title, namely, the choice and ordering of the seeds. 

3. Choose your seed of that which is perfectly mature, ponderous, and 
sound ; commonly that which is easily shaken from the boughs, or ga- 
thered about November, immediately upon its spontaneous fall, or taken 
from the tops and summities of the fairest and soundest trees, is best, 
and does, for the most part, direct to the proper season of interring, &c. 
according to institution. 



mental proofs of a circumstance so full of harmony. In January, 1769, being engaged in 
an investigation of the nature of the Food of vegetables, with a view to establish a theory 
of Agriculture, I saw that there must be some secret property in the air, which restored 
■worn-out lands to their former fertility ; and as I could not persuade myself that it arose 
from the universal acid, so much talked of, I was led, by a chain of reasoning and some 
few experiments, to conclude that it must proceed from putrid exhalations, first generated 
upon the surface of the earth, then raised into the atmosphere, and afterwards brought 
down by rain : In this manner I supposed that the influence of Heaven, as Mr. Evelyn 
well expresses it, was obtained. Having fully satisfied myself that worn-out lands were 
thus restored, I went a step further, and concluded, as I thought with certainty, that all 
plants, by their leaves as well as by their roots, imbibed these putrid vapours for their 
food. And here I beg leave to remark, that I do not mean to say that plants have no 
other nutriment, as it may be proved to a demonstration that many things give them food 
without having undergone the putrid ferment. March 8, 1769, (two years before Dr. Priestley 
began any experiments in vegetation,) I read a memoir upon this curious subject before 
the York Agriculture Society, being the day of their institution ; and in June following I 
published it in a small duodecimo volume of 66 pages, under the title of Georgical Essays. 
The favourable reception that this work met with, induced me to republish it in 1770, with 
considerable additions. The words I refer to are these: " During the summer months the 
" atmosphere is full of puti-id exhalations arising from the steam of dunghills, the perspi- 
" ration of animals and smoke. Every shower brings down these oleaginous * particles 
* The word oiea- « for the nourishment of plants." Geors. Essays, p. 10. " It is pleasing to observe how the 

ginous is chiefly ^ ^ 

applied to smoke, " dissolution of One body is necessary for the life and mcrease of another. All nature is 
anti corresponds „ |^ motion. In cousequeuce of the putrid fermentation that is every where carried on, 

with the theory of ^ o u 

the food ot plants, "a quantity of vegetable nutriment ascends into the atmosphere. Summer showers 
described in « rgtum much of it again ; but part falls into the sea and is lost : To this we may add the 
" animal and vegetable substances consumed on board of ships, all of which are buried in 
" the ocean. The industry of man restores them to the earth ; and we may presume that 
" the fish taken from the sea leave a balance in favour of mankind : Thus Provi- 



the essays here 
quoted 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



19 



At specimen sationis, et insitionis origo 
Ipsa fuit rerum primum Natura creatrix : 
Arboribus quoniam baccse, glandesque caducae 
Tempestiva dabant puUorum examina subter. 



LUCRET. l.v. 




CHAP. I. 



Nature herself, who all created first. 
Invented sowing, and the wild plants nurst : 
When mast and berries from the trees did drop. 
Succeeded under by a numerous crop. 



Yet this is to be considered, that if the place you sow in be too cold for 
an autumnal semination, your acorns, mast, and other seeds may be 



" dence, with the most consummate wisdom, keeps up the necessary rotation of 
" things." Georg. Essays, p. 332. 

So far I had considered this putrid nutriment as absorbed by the roots of plants ; but the . 
ingenious experiments of Dr. Priestley refer to the absorption of the putrid air by the 
leaves of plants. That I had also i-emarked in a variety of places. "Hitherto I have 
" considered plants as nourished by their roots ; I shall now take a view of them as 
" nourished by their leaves. An attention to this part of the vegetable system is 
" essentially necessary to the rational farmer. Vegetables that have a succulent leaf, such 

as vetches, pease, beans, and buck-wheat, draw a great part of their nourishment from 
" the air, and on that account impoverish the soil less than wheat, oats, barley, or rye, 
" the leaves of which are of a firmer texture. Rape and hemp are oU-bearing plants, and 

consequently impoverishers of the soil ; but the former less so than the latter, owing to 
" the greater succulency of its leaf. The leaves of all kinds of grain are succulent for a 
" time, during which period the plants take little from the earth ; but as soon as the ear 
" begins to be formed, they lose their softness and diminish in their attractive power. The 
" radical fibres are then more vigorously employed in extracting the oily particles of 
" the earth for the nourishment of the seed. Such, I apprehend, is the course of 
" nature." Ibid. p. 25. 

" The air contains, especially during the summer months, all the principles of vegetation ; 
"oil (phlogiston) for the perfect food, water to dilute it, and salts to assimilate it. These 
" are greedily absorbed by the vessels of the leaves and bark, and conveyed to the inner- 
" most parts of the plant for its growth and fructification." Ibid. p. 64. 

" In order that we may have a distinct view of the motion of the sap, it will be neces- 
" sary to reflect, that the root, stem, branches, and leaves are constructed in the same 
" manner. Sallows, willows, vines, and most shrubs, will grow in an inverted state, with 
" their tops downward in the earth. Dr. Bradley describes the manner of inverting a 
" young cherry-tree, the roots of which will put forth leaves, and the branches become 
" roots. Hence it is obvious that the nutrl'tivie matter may be conveyed as well by the 
" leaves as the toots, their vascular structure being the very same." Ibid. p. 79« 



K 2 



20 



A DISCOURSE 



ROOK I. prepared for the vernal, by being barrelled or potted up in moist sand, or 
earth, stratum super stratum, during the winter ; at the expiration 
Avhereof you will find them sprouted ; and being committed to the earth, 
with a tender hand, as apt to take as if they had been sown with the 
most early, nay, with great advantage : By this means too, they have 
escaped the vermine, which are prodigious devourers of winter sowing. 



" During the heat of a summer's day, all plants perspire freely from the pores of their 
" leaves and bark. At that time the juices are highly rarefied. The diameters of the 
" Trachea?, or air-vessels, are enlarged, so as to press upon and straiten the vessels that 
" carry the sap. In consequence of which their juices, not being able to escape by the 
" roots, are pressed upward, where there is the least resistance, and perspire oft' the 
" excrementitious parts by the leaves and top-branches, in the form of vapour. When 
" the solar heat declines, the tracheae are contracted. The sap vessels are enlarged, and 
" the sap sinks down in the manner of the spirits of a thermometer. In consequence of 
" this change, the capillary vessels of the leaves and top-branches become empty : Being 
" surrounded with the humid vapours of the evening, they fill themselves from the known 
" laws of attraction, and send down the new acquired juices to be mixed with those that 
" are more elaborated. As soon as the sun has altered the temperature of the air, the 
" tracheae become again distended, and the sap vessels are straitened. The same cause 
" always produces the same effect ; and this alternate ascent and descent, through the 
" same system of vessels, continues as long as the plant survives." Georg. Essays, p. 79. 

" Air is to be found in every portion of earth ; as it always contains a solution of 
" the volatile parts of animal and vegetable substances, we should be careful to keep our 
" stiff" soils as open as possible to its influence. It passes, both in its active and fixed state, 
" into the absorbent vessels of the root, and, mixing with the juices of the plant, circulates 
" through every part. Dr. Hales, in his statical experiments upon the vine, discovered 
" it ascending with the sap in the bleeding season." 7bid. p. 85. 

These extracts, published in I769 and 1770, will abundantly show that at those early 
periods I was acquainted with the economy of nature in the consumption of the putrid 
and noxious particles of the atmosphere, by the vegetable creation. It did not belong to 
my argument to say, that in consequence of this removal of phhgistoii, the air became 
" pure and fit for animal respiration." That harmonious reflection arose from the subject, 
and naturally invited experimental inquiry. And happy it is for the philosophical world, 
that the prosecution of this inquiry has fallen to the lot of Dr. Priestley, whose experi- 
ments are so ingeniously conducted, and whose conclusions are so fairly drawn, that I 
cannot avoid extracting from them so much as regards the present argument. "When 
" air has been freshly and strongly tainted with putrefaction, so as to smell through the 
" water, sprigs of mint have presently died, upon being put into it, their leaves turning 
"black ; but if they do not die presently, they thrive in a most .surprising manner. In no 
" other circumstances have I ever seen vegetation so vigorous as in this kind of air, which 
" is immediately fatal to animal life. Though these plants have been crowded in jars 



OF FOREST-TREES. 21 

and will not be much concerned with the increasing heat of the season, as cHAP. l. 
such as being crude and unferraented, are newly sown in the beginning ^^^*v^ 
of the spring, especially in hot and loose grounds ; being already in so 
fair a progress by this artificial preparation, and which (if the provision 
to be made be very great) may be thus managed : Choose a fit piece of 
ground, and with boards (if it have not that position of itself) design it 



" filled with this air, every leaf has been full of life; fresh shoots have branched out in 
" Tarious directions, and have grown much faster than other similar plants, growing in the 
" same exposure in common air. This observation led me to conclude, that plants, 
" instead of affecting the air in the same manner with animal respiration, reverse the 
" effects of breathing, and tend to keep the atmosphere sweet and wholesome, when 
"it is become noxious, in consequence of animals, either living and breathing, or 

" dying and putrefying in it. In order to ascertain this, I took a quantity of air, 

" made thoroughly noxious, by mice breathing and dying in it, and divided it into two 
" parts ; one of which I put into a phial immersed in water ; and to the other (which 
" was contained in a glass jar, standing in water) I put a sprig of mint. This was 
"about the beginning of August 1771, and after eight or nine days, I found that a mouse 
" lived perfectly well in that part of the air, in which the sprig of mint had grown, but 
" died the moment it was put into the other part of the same original quantity of air ; 
" and which I had kept in the very same exposure, but without any plant growing in it. 
" This experiment I have several times repeated ; sometimes using air in which animals 
" had breathed and died ; sometimes using air tainted with vegetable or animal putre- 
" faction, and generally with the same success. Once I let a mouse live and die in a 
" quantity of air which had been noxious, but which had been restored by this process, 
" and it lived nearly as long as I conjectured it might have done in an equal quantity of 
"fresh air; but this is so exceedingly various, that it is not easy to form any judgment 
" from it ; and in this case the symptom of difficult respiration seemed to begin earlier than 
"it would have done in common air. Since the plants that I made use of manifestly 
" grow and thrive in putrid air ; since putrid matter is well known to affovd proper 
" nourishment for the roots of plants ; and since it is likewise certain that they receive 
" nourishment by their leaves as well as by their roots, it seems to be exceedingly probable, 
that the putrid effluvium is in some measure extracted from the air, by means of the 
" leaves of plants ; and therefore that they render the remainder more fit for respiration. 
" Towards the end of the year some experiments of this kind did not answer so well as 
" they had done before, and I had instances of the relapsing of this restored air to its 
"former noxious state: I therefore suspended my judgment concerning the efficacy of 
"plants to restore this kind of noxious air, till I should have an opportunity of repeating 
" my experiments, and giving more attention to them. Accordingly I resumed the 
"experiments in the summer of the year 1772, when I presently had the most 
" indisputable proof of the restoration of putrid air by vegetation ; and as the fact is of 
" some importance, and the subsequent variation in the state of this kind of air is a Httle 
"remarkable, I think it necessary to relate some of the facts pretty circumstantially. 



22 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. three feet higli ; lay the first foot in fine earth, another of Seeds, Acorns, 
"^'^'^^^ Mast, Keys, Nuts, Haws, Holly-berries, &c. promiscuously or separate, 
with, now and then, a little mould sprinkled amongst them ; the third 
foot wholly earth : Of these preparatory magazines make as many and as 
much larger ones as will serve your turn, continuing it from time to time 
as your store is brought in. The same you may also do for ruder hand- 



" The air, on which I made the first experiments, was rendered exceedingly noxious by 
" mice dying in it on the 20th of June. Into a jar nearly filled with one part of this air, 
" I put a sprig of mint, while I kept another part of it in a phial, in the same exposure ; 
" and on the 27th of the same month (and not before) I made a trial of them, by intro- 
" ducing a mouse into a glass vessel, containing 2^ ounce measures filled with each kind 
" of air ; and I noted the following facts. When the vessel was filled with the air in 
"which the mint had grown, a very large mouse lived five minutes in it, before it began to 
" show any sign of uneasiness. I then took it out, and found it to be as strong and 
" vigorous as when it was first put in ; whereas in that air which had been kept in the 
" phial only, without a plant growing it, a younger mouse continued not longer than 
" two or three seconds, and was taken out quite dead. It never breathed after, and was 
" immediately motionless. After half an hour, in which time the larger mouse (which I 
" had kept alive, that the experiment might be made on both the kinds of air with the 
" very same animal) would have been sufficiently recruited, supposing it to have received 
" any injury by the former experiment, it was put into the same vessel of air ; but though it 
" was withdi'awn again, after being in it hardly one second, it was recovered with 
" difficulty, not being able to stir from the place for near a minute. After two days, I 
" put the same mouse into an equal quantity of common air, and observed that it continued 
" seven minutes without any sign of uneasiness ; and being very uneasy after three 
" minutes longer, I took it out. Upon the whole, I concluded that the restored air wanted 
about one-fourth of being as wholesome as common air. The same thing also appeared 
" when I applied the test of nitrous air. In the seven days, in which the mint was 
" growing in this jar of noxious air, three old shoots had extended themselves about three 
" inches, and several new ones had made their appearance in the same time. Dr. Franklin 
" and Sir John Pringle happened to be with me, when the plant had been three or four 
"days in this state, and took notice of its vigorous vegetation, and remarkably healthy 
" appearance in that confinement. On the SOth of the same month, a mouse lived 
" fourteen minutes, breathing naturally all the time, and without appearing to be much 
" uneasy, till the last two minutes, in the vessel containing two ounce measures and a 
" half of air, which had been rendered noxious by mice breathing in it almost a year 
" before, and which I had found to be most highly noxious on the IQth of this month, a 
" plant having grown in it, but not exceedingly well, these eleven days ; on which 
" account I had deferred making the trial so long. The restored air was effected by a 
" mixture of nitrous air, almost as much as common air. As this putrid air was thus easily 
" restored to a considerable degree of fitness for respiration, by plants growing in it, I 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



23 



lings by burying your seeds in dry sand, or pulverised earth, barrelling cHAP. 
them, as I said, in tubs, or laid in heaps in some deep cellar, where the ^*^*y^ 
rigour of the winter may least prejudice them ; and I have filled old 
hampers, bee-hives, and boxes with them, and found the like advantage, 
which is to have them ready for your Seminary, as before hath been 
showed, and exceedingly prevent the season. There be also who affirm, 

" was in hopes that by the same means it might in time be so much more perfectly 
" restored, that a candle would burn in it ; and for this purpose I kept plants growing in 
" the jars which contained this air till the middle of August following, but did not take 
" sufficient care to pull out all the old and rotten leaves. The plants, however, had grown, 
" and looked so well upon the whole, that I had no doubt but that the air must constantly 
"have been in a mending state; when I was exceedingly surprised to find, on the 24th of 
" that month, that though the air in one of the jars had not grown worse, it was no better ; 
" and that the air in the other jar was so much worse than it had been, that a mouse would 
" have died in it in a few seconds. It also made no effervescence with nitrous air, as it 
" had done before. Suspecting that the same plant might be capable of restoring putrid 
" air to a certain degree only, or that plants might have a contrary tendency in some 
" stages of their growth, I withdrew the old plant, and put a fresh one in its place ; and 
" found that, after seven days, the air was restored to its former wholesome state. This 
" fact I consider as a very remarkable one, and well deserving of a farther investigation, 
" as it may throw more light upon the principles of vegetation. It is not, however, a 
" single fact ; for I had several instances of the same kind in the preceding year ; but it 
" seemed so very extraordinary, that air should grow worse by the continuance of the 
" same treatment by which it had grown better, that, whenever I observed it, I concluded 
" that I had not taken sufficient care to satisfy myself of its previous restoration. That 
"plants are capable of perfectly restoring air injured by respiration, may, I think, be 
" inferred with certainty from the perfect restoration, by this means, of air which had 
"passed through my lungs, so that a candle would burn in it again, though it had 
"extinguished flame before, and a part of the same original quantity of air still con- 
"tinuedto do so. Of this, one instance occurred in the year 1771, a sprig of mint having 
"grown in ajar of this kind of air, from the 25th of July to the 17th of August following; 
" and another trial I made, with the same success, the 7th of July, 1 772, the plant having 
" grown in it from the 29th of June preceding. In this case also I found that the effect 
" was not owing to any virtue in the leaves of mint ; for I kept them constantly changed 
" in a quantity of this kind of air, for a considerable time, without making any sensible 
"alteration in it. These proofs of a partial restoration of air by plants in a state of 
" vegetation, though in a confined and unnatural situation, cannot but render it highly 
" probable, that the injury which is continually done to the atmosphere by the respiration 
" of such a number of animals, and the putrefaction of such masses of both vegetable and 
" animal matter, is, in part at least, repaired by the vegetable creation. And, notwith- 
" standing the prodigious mass of air that is corrupted daily by the above-mentioned 
" causes ; yet, if we consider the immense profusion of vegetables upon the face of the 
" earth, growing in places suited to their nature, and consequently at full liberty to exert 



24 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. that the careful cracking and opening of stones, which include the 



kernels, as soon as ripe, precipitate growth, and gain a year's advance ; 
but this is erroneous. Now^ if you gather them in moist weather, lay 
them a drying, and so keep them till you sow, which may be as soon as 
you please after Cln-istmas. If they spire out before you sow them, be 
sure to commit them to the earth before the sprout grows dry, or else 
expect little from them : And whenever you sow, if you prevent not the 
little field-mouse, he will be sure to have the better share ^. 



" all their powers, both inhaling and exhaling, it can hardly be thought, but that it may 
" be a sufficient counterbalance to it, and that the remedy is adequate to the evil. — 
" Dr. Franklin, who, as I have already observed, saw some of my plants in a very flourishing 
" state, in highly noxious air, was pleased to express very great satisfaction with the 
" result of the experiments. In his answer to the letter in which I informed him of it, 
he says, ' That the vegetable creation should restore the air which is spoiled hy the animal 
part of it, looks like a rational sijstem, and seems to be of a piece with the rest. Thus Jire 
purifies water all the world over. It purifies it by distillation, when it raises it in vapours, and 
lets it fall in rain ; and farther still by filtration, ivhen, keeping fluid, it suffers that rain to 
percolate the earth. We knew before that putrid animal substances were converted into sweet 
vegetables, ivhen mixed with the earth, and applied as ynanure ; and now, it seems, that the same 
putrid substances, mixed with the air, have a similar effect. The strong thriving state of your 
mint in putrid air, seemi to shorn that the air is mended by taking something from it, and not 
by adding to it.' " — Experiments and Observations on different Kinds of Air, p. 86" — 94. Vol. I. 

Every one who has a pleasure in contemplating and reflecting upon the wisdom of God 
in the creation, must be delighted with the harmony of the above system ; but some foreign 
philosophers have lately introduced a new theory in hopes of destroying it entirely. They 
tell us that vegetables, during the day time, are continually perspiring through their leaves 
oxigene, or good air, and that in the night time, the same system of vessels pour forth 
azote, or impure air. If this kind of reasoning be founded upon correct experiment, we 
should form our plantations at some distance from our habitations, in order that these two 
opposite kinds of air may be well mixed with the surrounding atmospheric air befoi-e they 
find their way into the family apai-tments. We should also forbid the introduction of 
plants into our parloui'S and drawing-rooms, in order to guard against those diseases that 
are supposed to originate in an excess, or deficiency, either of azote or oxigene. To enter 
further into the medical history of those airs would in this place be thought improper. 

^ It must be confessed that sowing of Acorns, Beech-Mast, Ash-Keys, &c. in the 
Autumn, when those seeds fall spontaneously from the trees, appears by much the most 
natural method ; but the destruction made by the field-mouse upon those seeds, both at 
the time of sowing and during the winter, has induced many gentlemen to prefer Spring- 
sowing to the Autumnal one. When the first is determined on, the acorns and other 
seeds must be carefully preserved during the winter; and, in forming the magazines, care 
must be taken to keep the different sorts apart from each other. It is not customary to 
preserve the acorns, &c. in the manner recommended by Mr. Evelyn ; but, as he always 
speaks from experience, his method should not be rashly condemned. 




OF FOREST-TREES. 



25 



4. But to pursue this to some farther advantage, as to what concerns CHAP, 
the election of your seed, it is to be considered, that there is a vast ^"^^ 
difference in trees even of the same growth and bed, which I judge to 
proceed from the variety and quality of the seed : This, for instance, is 
evidently seen in the heart, procerity, and stature of timber ; and there- 
fore choose not your seeds always from the most fruitful trees, which are 
commonly the most aged and decayed ; but from such as are found most 

solid and fair. Nor, for this reason, covet the largest acorn, &:c. but 
(as husbandmen do their wheat) the most weighty, clean, and bright. 
This observation we deduce from fruit-trees, which we seldom find to 
bear so kindly and plentifully from a sound stock, smooth rind, and firm 
wood, as from a rough, lax, and untoward tree; which is rather prone to 
spend itself in fruit (the ultimate effort, and final endeavour of its most 
delicate sap) than in solid and close substance to increase the timber. 
And this shall suffice, though some haply might here recommend to us 
a more accurate microscopical examen, to interpret their most secret 
schematisms, which were an over nicety for these great plantations. 

5. As concerning the medicating and insuccation of seeds, or enforcing 
the earth by rich and generous composts, &c. for trees of these kinds, I 
am no great favourer of it ; not only because the charge would much 
discourage the work, but for that we find it unnecessary, and, for most 
of our forest-trees, noxious ; since even where the ground is too fertile, 
they thrive not so well ; and if a mould be not proper for one sort, it may 
be fit for another. Yet I would not, by this, hinder any from the trial, 
what advance such experiments will produce : In the mean time, for the 
simple imbibition of some seed» and kernels, when they prove extraor- 
dinary dry, as the season may fall out, it might not be amiss to macerate 
them in milk or water only, a little impregnated with cow-dung, &c. 
during the space of twenty-four hours, to give them a spirit to sprout 
and chet the sooner; especially if you have been retarded in your 
sowing without the former preparation : But concerning the mould, 
soiling, and preparations of the ground, I refer you to my " Treatise of 
Earth," if what you meet with in this do not abundantly encounter all 
those difficulties. 

6. Being thus provided with seeds of all kinds, I would advise to raise 
woods by sowing them apart in several places destined for their growth, 
where the mould being prepared (as I shall show hereafter) and so quali- 

Volume I. L 



26 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. fied, if election be made, as best to suit with the nature of the species, 
they may be sown promiscuously, which is the most natural and rural ; 
or in straight and even lines, for hedge-rows, avenues, and walks, which 
is the more ornamental. 
AIR. As to the Air and Water, they are certainly of almost as great import- 
ance to the life and prosperity of trees and vegetables ; and therefore it 
is to be wished for and sought, (and they commonly follow, or indicate the 
nature of the soil, or the soil of them,) that they be neitlier too keen or 
sharp, too cold or hot, not infected with fogs and poisonous vapours, or 
exposed to sulphurous exhalations, or frigiverous winds, reverberating 
from hills and other ill-situate eminences, pressing down the incumbent 
particles so tainted or conveyed through the inclosed vallies ; but such as 
may gently enter and pervade the cenabs and vessels, destined and ap- 
pointed for their reception, intromission, respiration, and passage, in 
almost continual motion : In a word, such as is most agreeable to the life of 
man, duly qualified with their proper mixts, be it nitre, or any other vege- 
table matter, though we neither see nor distinctly taste it; nay, so univer- 
sally pervading and necessary, that all aquatics, how deeply soever 
submerged, could not subsist without this active element the air. 

WATER. The same qualification is, as we said, required in Water, to which it is 
of so near alliance, and whose office it is not only to humectate, mollify, 
and prepare both the seeds and roots of vegetables, to receive the 
nutrition, pabulum, and food, of which this of water as well as air are 
the proper vehicles, insinuating what they carry into the numerous pores, 
and through the tubes, canals, and other emulgent passages and percola- 
tions to the several vessels, where (as tn a stomach) it is elaborated, 
concocted, and digested, for distribution through every part of the plant ; 
and therefore had need be such as should feed, not starve, infect, or 
corrupt ; which depends upon the nature and quality of the mixed, with 
what other virtue, spirit, mineral, or other particles, accompanying the 
purest springs (to appearance) passing- through the closest strainers. 
This therefore requires due examination, and sometimes exposure to the 
air and sun, and accordingly the crudity and other defects taken off and 
qualified : From all which rain-water that has had its natural circulation, 
is greatly free, so it meets with no noxious vapours in the descent, as it 
must do passing through clouds of smoke and soot, over and about great 
cities, and other volcanoes, continually vomiting out their acrimonious, 
and sometimes pestiferous fervour, infecting the ambient air, as it 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



27 



perpetually does about London and for many miles adjacent, as 1 have CHAP, 
shown in my treatise entitled Fumifugium. 

In the mean time whether water alone is the cause of the solid and 
bulky part, and consequently of the augmentation of trees and plants, or 
wdthout any thing more to do with that element than as it serves to trans- 
port some other matter, is very ingeniously discussed, and curiously in- 
quired into by Dr. Woodward, in his History of the Earth, fortified with 
divers nice experiments too large to be here inserted '. The sum is, that 



^ It is of the utmost consequence to determine what is the Food of Plants. Upon that 
question Philosophers have widely differed. From a number of experiments, accurately 
conducted, I am led to believe that all vegetables, from the hyssop upon the wall, to the 
cedar of Lebanon, receive their principal nourishment from oily particles incorporated with 
water, by means of an alkaline salt or absorbent earth. Until oil is made miscible, it is 
unable to enter the radical vessels of vegetables ; and, on that account, Providence has 
bountifully supplied all natural soils with chalky or other absorbent particles. I say na- 
tural soils ; for those which have been assisted by art are full of materials for that purpose ; 
such as lime, marl, soap-ashes, and the volatile alkaline salt of putrid dunghills. It 
may be asked, whence do natural soils receive their oily particles ? I answer, the air 
supplies them. During the summer months, the atmosphere is full of exhalations 
arising from the steam of dunghills, the perspiration of animals, and smoke. Every 
shower brings down these putrescent and oleaginous particles for the nourishment of 
plants. Of these particles, some fall into the sea, where they probably serve for the 
nourishment of fuci, and other submarine plants. They are, however, but seemingly lost, 
as the fish taken from the sea, and the weeds thrown upon the beach, restore them again 
under a different form. Thus Providence, with the most consummate wisdom, keeps up 
the necessary rotation of things. 

Haud igitur penitus pereunt quascumque videntur: 
Quando aliud ex alio reficit Natura : nee ullam 

Rem gigni patitur, nisi morte adjutam aliena. LucRET. 
The ingenious Mr. Tull, and others, contend that earth is the food of plants. If so, all 
soils equally tilled would prove equally prolific. The increased fertility of a well-pulverised 
soil, induced him to imagine that the plough could so minutely divide the particles of 
earth, as to fit them for entering into the roots of plants. An open soil, if not too light in 
its own nature, will always pfoduce plentiful crops. It readily receives the air, rainsj 
and dews into its bosom, and at the same time gives the roots of plants a free passage in 
quest of food. This is the true reason why land well tilled is so remarkably fruitful.— 
Wat6r is thought, by some, to be the food of vegetables, when in reality it is only the 
vehicle of nourishment. Water is an heterogeneous fluid, and is no where to be found 
purei It always contains a solution of animal or vegetable substances. These constitute 
the nourishment of plants, and the element in which they are minutely suspended, acts 
only as a vehicle, in guiding them through the fine vessels of the vegetable body. The 

L 2 



28 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. water, be it of rain or the river, (superior or inferior,) carries with it a 
certain superfine terrestrial matter, not destitute of vegetative particles, 
which gives body, substance, and all other requisites to the growth and 
perfection of the plant, with the aid of that due heat which gives life 
and motion to the vehicle's passage through all the parts of the vegetable, 
continually ascending, till (having sufficiently saturated them) it trans- 
hyacinth, and other bulbous roots, are known to perfect their flowers in pure water. — 
Hence superficial observers have drawn an argument in favour of water being the food of 
vegetables. But the truth is, the roots, stem, and flowers of such plants are nourished by 
the mucilaginous juices of the bulb, diluted by the surrounding water. This mucilage is 
just sufficient to perfect the flower — and no more. Such a bulb neither forms seeds, nor 
sends forth ofF-sets. At the end of the season, it appears weak, shrivelled, and exhausted, 
and is rendered unfit to produce flowers the succeeding year. A root of the same kind, 
that has been fed by the oily and mucilaginous juices of the earth, essentially differs in 
every particular : it has a plump appearance, is full of mucilage — with ofF-sets upon its 
sides. All rich soils, in a state of nature, contain oil ; and in those lands which have been 
under the plough for some years, it is found in proportion to the quantity of putrid dung that 
has been laid upon them, making an allowance for the crops they have sustained. To set 
this matter in a clearer light, let us attend to the effects of manures of an oily nature, and 
we shall soon be satisfied that oil, however modified, is one of the chief things concerned 
in vegetation. Rape-dust, when laid upon land, is a speedy and certain manure, though 
an expensive one, and will generally answer best on a limestone land, or where the soil 
has been moderately limed. This species of manure is much esteemed by the farmer. It 
contains the food of plants ready prepared ; but as it is not capable of loosening the soil by 
any fermentation, the lands upon which it is laid ought to be in excellent tilth. At present, 
that useful article of husbandry is much diminished in goodness, owing to the improved 
methods of extracting the oil from the rape. Heat and pressure are employed in a double 
decree. Farmers that live in the neiffhbourhood of laree towns use abundance of soot. 
It is an oily manure, but different from the former, containing alkaline salt in its own 
nature, calculated as well for opening the soil, as for rendering the oily parts miscible 
with water. It is observed that pigeon's dung is a rich and hasty manure. These 
animals feed chiefly upon grains and oily seeds ; it must therefore be expected that their 
dung should contain a large proportion of oil. The dung of stable-kept horses is also a 
strong manure, and should not be used until it has undergone the putrid ferme.nl, in order 
to mix and assimilate its oily, watery, and saline parts. Beans, oats, and hay, contain 
much oil. The dung of horses that are kept upon green herbage, is of a weaker kind, 
containing much less oil. Swine's dung is of a saponaceous and oily nature, and perhaps 
is the richest of the animal manures. When made into a compost and applied with judg- 
ment, it is excellent both for arable and grass lands. The dung of stall-fed oxen, espe- 
cially if oil-cake make part of their food, is of a rich quality, and greatly preferable to that 
of cows and oxen supported by grass only. A farmer, when he purchases dung, should 
attend to all the circumstances under which it is produced. One load of dung from a 
hunting stable where much corn is consumed, is worth two loads produced by hay and 



OF FOREST.TREES. 



pires the rest of the liquid at the summity and tops of the branches into CHAP, 
the atmosphere, and leaving some of the less-refined matter in a viscid ^""^ 
honey-dew, or other exsudations, (often perceived on the leaves and 
blossoms,) anon descending and joining again with what they meet, repeat 
this course in perpetual circulation. Add to this, that from hence those 
regions and places, crowded with numerous and thick-standing forest- 
green provender. The dung of ruminant animals, as cows and sheep, is preferable to that 
of horses at grass, owing to the quantity of animal juices mixed with their food in chewing. 
And here I beg leave to remark in general, that the fatter the animal, cceleris paribus, 
the richer the dung. Human ordure is full of oil and a volatile alkaline salt. By itself, it 
is too strong a manure for any land ; it should therefore be made into a compost before it 
is used. The dung of carnivorous animals is plentifully stored with oil. Animals that 
feed upon seeds and grains come next, and after them follow those which subsist upon 
grass only. To suit these different manures to their proper soils, requires the greatest 
judgment of the farmer, as what may be proper for one soil may be highly detrimental to 
another. 

In order to strengthen my argument in favour of oil being the principal food of plants, 
I must beg leave to observe, that all vegetables, whose seeds are of an oily nature, are 
found to be remarkable impoverishers of the soil, as hemp, rape, and flax; for Avhich 
reason, the best manures for lands worn out by these crops, are such as have a good deal 
of oil in their composition ; but then they must be laid on with lime, chalk, marl, or soap- 
ashes, so as to render the oily particles miscible with water. The book of nature may be 
displayed, to show that oily particles constitute the nourishment of plants in their embryo 
state ; and, by a fair iftference, we may suppose that something of the same nature is con- 
tinued to them as they advance in growth. The oily seeds, as rape, hemp, line, and 
turnip, consist of two lobes, which, when spread upon the surface, form the seminal leaves. 
In them the whole oil of the seed is contained. The moisture of the atmosphere pene- 
trates the cuticle of the leaves, and, mixing with the oil, constitutes a kind of milk for the 
nourishment of the plant. The sweetness of this balmy fluid invites the fly, against which 
no sufficient remedy has, as yet, been discovered. The oleaginous liquor being consumed, 
the seminal leaves decay, having performed the office of a mother to her tender infant. 
To persons unacquainted with the analogy between plants and animals, this reflection will 
appear strange. Nothing, however, is more demonstrable. Most of the leguminous and 
farinaceous plants keep their placenta, or seminal leaves, within the earth; in which 
situation they supply the tender germ with oily nutriment, until its roots are grown suf- 
ficiently strong to penetrate the soil. 

It is usual to talk of the salts of the earth ; but chymistry has not been able to discover 
any salts in land which has not been manured, though, it is said, that oil may be obtained 
from every soil, the very sandy ones excepted. Marl, though a rich manure, has no salts. 
It is thought to contain a small portion of oleaginous matter, and an absorbent earth, of a 
nature similar to limestone, with a large quantity of clay intermixed. Lime mixed with 
clay comes nearest to the nature of marl of any factitious body that we know of, and may 



30 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. trees and woods, (which hinder the necessary evohtion of this superfluous 
"^^f^ moisture and intercourse of the air,) render those countries and places 
more subject to rain and mists, and consequently unwholesome, as is 
found in our American plantations, as formerly nearer us in Ireland; both 
since so much improved by felling and clearing these spacious shades, 
and letting in the air and sun, and making the earth fit for tillage and 

be used as such, -where it can be had without much expense. By increasing the quantity 
of clay, it will make an excellent compost for a light sandy soil ; but to make the ground 
fertile, woollen rags, rotten dung, or any oily manure, should be incorporated with it some 
time before it is laid on. It is the opinion of some, that lime enriches the land it is laid 
upon, by means of supplying a salt fit for the nourishment of plants ; but by all the expe- 
riments that have been made upon lime, it is found to contain no kind of salt. Its opera- 
tion therefore should be considered in a different light ; by the fermentation that it induces, 
the earth is opened and divided, and, by its absorbent and alkaline quality, it unites the 
oily and watery parts of the soil. It also seems to have the property of collecting some- 
thing from the air, but with which we are not yet sufficiently acquainted. From viewing 
lime in the light of assimilating oil and water, it is probable that it tends to rob the soil of 
its oily particl-es, and in time will render it barren, unless we take care to support it with 
rotten dung, or other manures of an oily nature. As light sandy soils contain but a small 
portion of oleaginous particles, we should be extremely cautious not to overdo them with 
lime, unless we can at the same time assist them liberally with rotten dung, woollen rags, 
shavings of horn, and other manures of an animal kind. Its great excellence, however, 
upon a sandy soil, is by mechanically binding the loose particles, aqd thereby preventing 
the liquid parts of the manure from escaping out of the reach of the radical fibres of the 
plants. Upon clay the effect of lime is different ; for by means of the gentle fermentation 
that it produces, the unsubdued soil is opened and divided : the manures laid on readily 
come into contact with every part of it ; and the fibres of the plants have full liberty to 
spread themselves. It is generally said that lime answers better upon sand than clay. — 
This obsei'vation will undoubtedly hold good as long as the farmer continues to lime his 
clay lands in a scanty manner. Let him double the quantity, and he will then be con- 
, vinced that lime is better for clay than sand. It may be justly answered, that the profits 

will not admit of the expense. I agree. But then it must be understood that it is the 
application, and not the nature of the lime, that should be called in question. Clay, well 
limed, will, after a time, fall in water, and ferment with acids. Its very nature is changed. 
Under such agreeable circumstances, the air, rains, and dews, are freely admitted, and the 
soil is enabl ed to retain the nourishment that each of them brings. In consequence of a 
fermentation raised in the soil, the fixed air is set at liberty, and in that state of activity it 
becomes an useful instrument in dividing the tenaceous clay. However, let the farmer 
who uses much lime for his clay lands, be instructed to manure them well, otherwise the 
soil will become too hard to permit the roots of the plants to spread themselves in search 
of food. It is the nature of lime to attract oils, and dissolve vegetable bodies. Upon these 
principles we may account for the wonderful effects of lime in the improvement of black 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



31 



pasture, that those gloomy tracts are now become healthy and habitable. CHAP. 
It is not to be imagined how many noble seats and dwellings in this na- 
tion of ours (to all appearance well situated) are for all that unhealthful, 
by reason of some grove or hedge-rows of antiquated dotard trees (nay, 
sometimes a single tuft only, especially the falling autumnal leaves neg- 
lected to be taken away) filling the air with musty and noxious exhala- 



moor-land. Moor-earth consists of dissolved, and half-dissolved vegetable substances. It 
is full of oil. Lime dissolves the one and assimilates the other. Such lands, not originally- 
worth fourpence per acre, may be made by paring, burning, and liming, to produce plen- 
tiful crops of turnips, which may be followed by oats, rye, barley, or grass-seeds, accordino- 
to the inclination of the owner. These observations, however, are rather foreign to the 
present argument, to which I shall now return. 

To the universal principle, oil, we must add another of great efficacy, though very little 
understood ; I mean the nitrous acid of the air. That the air does contain the rudiments 
of nitre, is demonstrable from the manner of making salt-petre in the different parts of the 
world. The air contains no such salt as perfect nitre; it is a factitious salt, and is made 
by the nitrous acid falling upon a proper matrix. The makers of nitre form that matrix of 
the rubbish of old houses, fat putrescent earth, and any fixed alkaline salt. The universal 
acid, as it is called, is attracted by these materials, and forms true nitre, which is rendered 
pure by means of crystallization, and in that form it is brought to us. In very hot coun- 
tries the natural earth forms a matrix for nitre, which makes the operation very short. It is 
observed that nitre is most plentifully formed in winter, when the wind is northerly : hence 
we may understand the true reason why farmers and nurserymen lay up their lands in 
high ridges during the winter months. The good effects of that operation are in general 
attributed to the mechanical action of the frost upon the ground. Light soils, as well as 
tough ones, may be exposed in high ridges, but with some limitation, in order to imitate 
the mud walls in Germany, which ai*e found, by experience, to collect considerable quan- 
tities of nitre during the winter. After saying so much in praise of nitre, it will be ex- 
pected that I should produce some proofs of its efficacy, when used as manure. I must 
confess that experiments do not give us any such proofs. Perhaps too large a quantity has 
been used ; or rather, it could not be restored to the earth with its particles so minutely 
divided, as when it remained united with the soil, by means of the chymistry of Nature. 
I shall therefore consider this nitrous acid, or, as philosophers call it, the acidmn vagitm, in 
the light of a vivifying principle, with whose operation we are not yet fully acquainted. — 
A curious observer will remark, that there subsists a strong analogy between plants and 
animals. Oil and water seem to make up the nourishment of both. Earth enters very 
little into the composition of either. It is known that animals take in a great many earthy 
particles at the mouth, but they are soon discharged by urine and stool. Vegetables take 
in the smallest portion imaginable of earth ; and the reason is, they have no way to dis- 
charge it. It is highly probable, that the radical fibres of plants take up their nourishment 
from the earth in the same manner that the lacteal vessels absorb the nutriment from the 
intestines ; and as the oily and watery parts of our food are perfectly united into a milky 



32 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. tions, which being ventilated by glades cut through them, for passage of 
the stagnant vapours, have been cured of this evil, and recovered their 
reputation. 

But to return to where we left : Water in this action, imbibed with 
such matter, applicable to every species of plants and vegetables, does 



liquor, by means of the spittle, pancreatic juice, and bile, before they enter the lacteals, 
we have all the reason imaginable to keep up the analogy, and suppose that the oleaginous 
and watery parts of the soil are also incorporated, previous to their being taken up by the 
absorbing vessels of the plant. To form a perfect judgment of this, we must reflect that 
every soil, in a state of nature, has in itself a quantity of absorbent earth, sufficient to in- 
corporate its inherent oil and water ; but when we load it with fat manures, it becomes 
essentially necessary to bestow upon it, at the same time, something to assimilate the parts. 
Lime, soap-ashes, kelp, marl, and all the alkaline substances, perform that office. In 
order to render this operation visible to the senses : dissolve one drachm of Russia pot-ash 
in two ounces of water ; then add two spoonfuls of oil. Shake the mixture, and it will 
instantly become an uniform mass of a whitish colour, adapted, as I conceive, to all the 
purposes of vegetation. This easy and familiar experiment is a just representation of 
what happens after the operation of Burn-baking, and consequently may be considered as 
a confirmation of the hypothesis advanced. Let us attend to the process. The sward 
being reduced to ashes, a fixed alkaline salt is produced. The moisture of the atmosphere 
soon reduces that salt into a fluid state, which, mixing with the soil, brings about an union 
of the oily and watery parts, in the manner demonstrated by the experiment. When the 
under-stratum consists of a rich vegetable mould, the effects of Burn-baking will be lasting. 
But when the soil happens to be thin and poor, the first crop frequently suffers before it 
arrives at maturity. The farmer, therefore, who is at the expense of paring and burning 
a thin soil, should bestow upon it a portion of rotten dung, or shambles manure, before the 
ashes are spread, in order to supply the deficiency of oily particles. In consequence of 
this prudent management, the crop will be supported during its growth, and the land will 
be preserved in health and vigour. Hitherto I have considered plants as nourished by 
their roots. I shall now take a view of them as nourished by their leaves. An attention to 
this part of the vegetable system is essentially necessary. Vegetables that have a succulent 
leaf, such as vetches, peas, beans, and buck-wheat, draw a great part of their nourish- 
ment from the air, and on that account impoverish the soil less than wheat, oats, barley, 
or rye, the leaves of which are of a firmer texture. In this manner the vegetable creation 
i-enders the air pure, by assimilating to itself those putrescent particles, which, if not re- 
moved, would render the atmosphere unfit for animal respiration. Rape and hemp are 
oil-bearing plants, and consequently, impoverishers of the soil ; but the former less so than 
the latter, owing to the greater succulency of its leaf The leaves of all kinds of grain are 
succulent for a time, during which period the plants take little from the earth ; but as soon 
as the ear begins to be formed, they lose their softness, and diminish in their attractive 
power. The radical fibres are then more vigorously employed in extracting the oily par- 
ticles of the earth, for the nourishment of the seed. 



OF FOUEST-TREES. 



33 



not, as we affirmed, operate to the full extent and perfection of what it cHAP. 
gives and contributes of necessary and constituent matter, without the 
soil and temper of the climate co-operate, which otherwise retards 



Vegetables being fixed to a place, have few offices to perform. An increase of body 
and maturation of their seed, seems all that is required of them. For these purposes. 
Providence has wisely bestowed upon them organs of a wonderful mechanism. The 
anatomical investigation of these organs, is the only rational method of arriving at any 
certainty concerning the laws of the vegetable economy. Upon this subject Dr. Hales 
judiciously observes, " That as the growth and preservation of vegetable life is promoted 

and maintained, as in animals, by the very plentiful and regular motion of their fluids, 
" which are the vehicles ordained by Nature to carry nutriment to every part, it is, 
" therefore, reasonable to hope, that in them also, by the same method of inquiry, con- 
" siderable discoveries may in time be made ; there being, in many respects, a great 
''analogy between plants and animals." 

The seed of a plant, after it has dropt from the ovarium, may be considered as an 
impregnated ovum, within which the embryo plant is securely lodged. In a few days 
after it has been committed to the earth, we may discern the rudiments of the future 
plant. Every part appears to exist in miniature. The nutritive juices of the soil insinuate 
themselves between the original particles of the plant, and -bring about an extension 
of its parts. This is what is called the growth of the vegetable body. With regard to 
this increase by addition and extension, there seems to be a great analogy between the 
animal and vegetable kingdoms. I have already endeavoured to prove, that oily 
particles constitute the chief nourishment of plants and animals ; and as I apprehend that 
much depends upon a proper investigation of the subject, I shall occasionally introduce 
some other proofs in support of my opinion. Every one knows that animals, instead of 
being strengthened, are enfeebled by a supply of improper nourishment. It is the same 
thing with regard to vegetables ; but with this difference, that animals refuse whatever is 
improper, while vegetables, from their passive nature, must be content with what we 
give them. The impregnated ovum of every animal, after it has passed down the 
Fallopian tube, and fixed itself to the bottom, or side, of the uterus, is found to contain 
the tender embryo within two membranes called Chorion and Amnion. In this situation 
the embryo could not long subsist without a supply of nourishment* Nature has therefore 
bestowed upon it a placenta and umbilical chord, through which the blood and juices of 
the mother are transmitted, for its preservation and increase. Seeds are disposed by 
Providence nearly in the same manner. They have two coverings, answering to the 
Chorion and Amnion, and two lobes which perform the office of the placenta. These 
lobes constitute the body of the seed, and, in the farinaceous kinds, they are the flour of 
the grain. Innumerable small vessels run through the substance of the lobes, which, 
uniting as they approach the seminal plant, form a small chord to be inserted into the 
body of the germ. Through it the nutriment supplied by the placenta, or lobes, is 
conveyed for the preservation and increase of the embryo plant. In order that I may be 
Volume I. , M 



34 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. both the growth and substance of what the earth produces, sensibly 
altering- their qualities, if some friendly and genial heat be wanting to 
exert the prolific virtue. Thus we find, that the hot and warmer regions 



clearly understood, it will be necessary to observe, that the lobes of most farinaceous 
grains are fixed in the earth : They are therefore improperly termed seminal leaves, being 
rather the placenta, or cotyledons of the plant. On the contrary, vegetables that have an 
oily seed, as rape, hemp, line, and turnip, carry their lobes upwards, and spread them upon 
the surface, in the form of broad leaves. These, though they perform the office of a placenta, 
are properly seminal leaves; and to this distinction I shall adhere. Fig. 1. represents 
the body, or placenta, of a bean, with its germ, radicle, umbilical chord, and ramifications. 
a. The germ. b. The body, or placenta, with the umbilical chord and ramifications, 
c. The radicle. Fig. 3. represents the placenta, or sepd-leaves, of a turnip, with its 
radicle and germ. a. The germ. b. The placenta, or seed-leaves. c. The radicle. 
Fig, 2. represents the germ of a grain of wheat, with its root and capsule, containing the 
milky juice for the nourishment of the tender plant, a. The origin of the crown from 
whence the second roots spring, b. The pipe of communication between the first roots and 
the crown, which in this early stage of the plant is covered with a membranous sheath. 
c. The grain with its first toots. As soon as the coronal, or spring root, puts out, the pipe 
of communication throws off its covering, and appears naked, as in Fig. 4. b. — Regarding 
these two kinds of roots, the economy of Nature is wonderful. , The seminal root, lying 
deep, nourishes the tender plant during the severity of winter ; but when the spring comes 
on, and it is necessary that the plant should advance in size, the coronal root then shoots 
forth and spreads its fibres just within the surface, where the land is always the richest. 
When the seed happens to be buried very deep. Nature lengthens the pipe of com- 
munication, and on no account will form the crown, from whence the spring roots are 

sent forth, till the surface is obtained : Fig. 4. 1 believe I do not err when I call this 

vegetable instinct. To illustrate the subject of vegetation, let us take a view of what 
happens to a bean after it has been committed to the earth. In a few days, sooner or 
later, according to the temperature of the weather and disposition of the soil, the external 
coverings open at one end, and disclose to the naked eye part of the placenta, or body 
of the grain. This substance consists of two lobes, between which the seminal plant is 
securely lodged. Soon after the opening of the membranes, a sharp-pointed body appears; 
This is the root. By a kind of principle, which seems to carry with it some appearance of 
instinct, it seeks a passage downwards, and fixes itself into the soil. At this period the 
root is a smooth and polished body, and perhaps has but little power to absorb any thing 
from the earth, for the nutriment of the germ. The two lobes now begin to separate, 
and the germ, with its leaves, may plainly be discovered. As the germ increases m size, 
the lobes are further separated, and the tender leaves being closely joined, push themselves 
forward in the form of a wedge. These leaves take a contrary direction "'to the root. 
Influenced by the same miraculous instinct, if I may be allowed the expression, they seek 
a passage upward, which having obtained, they lay aside their wedge-like form, and 



J 



OF FOREST-TREES. 35 

produce the tallest and goodliest trees and plants, in stature and other cHAP. 
properties far exceeding those of the same species, born in the cold North ; 
so as what is a giant in the one, becomes a pumilo, and, in comparison. 



spread themselves in a horizontal direction, as being the best adapted for receiving the 
rains and dews. The radicle, every hour increasing in size and vigour, pushes itself 
deeper in the earth, from which it now draws some nutritive particles. At the same 
time the leaves of the germ, being of a succulent nature, assist the plant, by attracting 
from the atmosphere such particles as their tender vessels are fit to convey. These 
particles, however, are of a watery kind, and have not in their own nature a sufficiency 
of nutriment for the increasing plant. Vegetables and animals, during their tender states, 
require a large share of balmy nourishment. As soon as an animal is brought into life, the 
milk of its mother is supplied in a liberal stream, while the tender germ seems only to 
have the crude and watery juices of the earth for its support. In that, however, we are 
deceived. The Author of Nature, with equal eye, watches over the infancy of all his 
works. The animal enjoys the milky humour of its parent. The vegetable lives upon a 
similar fluid, though differently supplied. For its use the farinaceous lobes are melted 
down into a milky juice, which, as long as it lasts, is conveyed to the tender plant by 
means of innumerable small vessels, which are spread through the substance of the lobes. 
These vessels enter the body of the germ, and perform the office of an umbilical chord. 
Without this supply of balmy liquor, the plant must inevitably have perished; its root 
being then too small to absorb a sufficiency of food, and its body too weak to assimilate 
it into nourishment. How beautiful is the resemblance between this and the imagery of 
Lucretius ! 

Hinc ubi qusque loci regio opportuna dabalur, 
. . Crescebant uteri terra; radicibus apti : 

Quos ubi tempore mature patefecerat astas 
Infantum fugiens humorem, aurasque petissens, 
Convertebat ibi natura foramina terrse, 
Et succum venis cogebat fundere apertis 
Consimilem lactis, sicut nunc foeniina quseque 
Cum peperit, dulci repletur lacte, quod omnis 

Impetus in mammas convertitur ille aliment!. Lib, v. 1. 807. 

Turnips, and all the tribe of Brassicas, in opposition to most of the leguminous and farina- 
ceous plants, spread their seminal leaves upon the surface. These leaves contain all the 
oil of the seed, which, when diluted by the moisture of the atmosphere, forms an 
emulsion of the most nourishing quality. How similar is this juice to the milk of animals ! 
On account of its sweetness, the seminal leaves are greedily devoured by the fly. This 
demonstrably proves that oil constitutes the nourishment of plants in their tender state ; 
and, by a fair inference, we may suppose that it also nourishes them as they advance 

M 2 



36 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. but a shrubby dwarf in the other ; deficient of that active spirit, which 



elevates and spreads its proUfic matter and continual supphes without 
check, and is the cause of the leaves deserting the branches, whilst those 
trees and plants of the more benign climate are clad in perennial 
verdure ; and those herbaceous plants, which with us in the hottest 
seasons hardly perfect their seeds before winter, require to be near their 
o-enial beds and nurse, and sometimes the artificial heat of the hot-bed. 
Lastly, to all this I would add that other cheerful vehicle. Light, which 
the gloomy and torpent North is so many months deprived of, the too 
long seclusion whereof is injurious to our exotics kept in the conserva- 
tories; since however tempered with heat, and duly refreshed, they 



in gi-owth. A grain of wheat, as soon as the germ has made its appearance, shows the 
milky liquor to the naked eye. As the plant increases in size, the balmy juice diminishes, 
till at last it is quite exhausted. The umbilical vessels then dry up, and the external 
covering of the grain appears connected to the root in the form of a shrivelled bag. 
See Fig. 4. c. — Here is no mortality : From the moment that the seed is lodged in its 
parent earth, the vegetative soul begins its operations, and, in one continued miracle, 
proves the wisdom and bounty of an Almighty Providence. It is worthy of observation, 
that farinaceous vegetables and oviparous animals are nourished, in their tender states, 
nearly in the same manner. We have already seen that the embryo plant is supported by 
the farina melted down into a milky liquor, and conveyed into its body by means of an 
umbilical chord, at the time when the radicle was unable to supply a sufficiency of nutriment. 
In like manner an oviparous animal, from the time it is brought into light, seems to 
receive all its nourishment from without. This, however, is only an appearance : The 
yolk of the egg, remaining entire during incubation, is received into the body of the 
animal, and in a manner similar to the passage of the milky juice of the vegetable, is 
slowly conveyed into the vessels of the tender chick. Thus a sweet nourishment is 
prepared at a time when neither the industry of the animal, nor the attention of its mother, 
could have procured a sufficient supply. How beautiful are the general laws of 
Providence ! The more we explore them, the more we have cause for wonder and 
astonishment ! Every thing is wisely disposed ; nothing is fortuitous ; all is order, 
regularity, and wisdom : 




Was every faltering tongue of man. 

Almighty Father ! silent in thy praise, 

Thy works themselves would raise a general voice, 

Ev'n in the depths of solitary woods, 

By human footunlrod; proclaim thy power. 

And to the quire celestial Thee resound, 

Th' eternal cause, support, and end of all. 



THOMSON. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 37 

grow sickly, and languish without the admission of light as well as air, CHAP, 
as I have frequently found 



>" If any number of plants are placed in pots in a room which only admits the light by a 
single hole, the stems will incline, or direct themselves towards that side. In thick 
forests, the yomig trees always lean to the side where the light penetrates. The new 
shoots of an espalier detach themselves from the wall which robs them of the air, the sun, 
and the light. It is in quest of the same excellent gifts of Nature, that the lateral branches 
of trees, abandoning the direction of the stem, spread and extend themselves in a direction 
parallel to the soil, even when planted on a declivity. Trunks are not, however, the only 
parts of plants which direct their course towards the air and the light of the sun. There 
are flowers, which, quitting their perpendicular direction, present their surface directly 
to that luminous body, and follow it in its diurnal course. This sort of motion has 
been called by some writers, nutation ; and the plants which are subject to it, have 
been termed Heliotropm ; that is, turning with the sun. The story of the Sun-flower, 
in Ovid's Metamorphoses, is confirmed by daily observation. Thomson beautifully describes 
its affection : 

But one, the lofty follower of the sun. 
Sad when he sets, shuts up her yellow leaves. 
Drooping all night; and when he warm returns. 
Points her enamour'd bosom to his ray. 

Most of the discous flowers, by some power unknown to us, follow the sun in his course. 
They attend him to his evening retreat, and meet his rising lustre in the morning with the 
same constant and unerring law. 



38 



A DISCOURSE 



CHAPTER II. 



SEMINARY. 



Of the Seminary, and of Transplanting. 

BOOK I. 1. ^UI Vineam vel A?'busfum constituere volet, Seminaria prius facerc 
debehit, was the precept of Columella, (de Arb. cap. 1.) speaking of 
vineyards and fruit-trees ; and doubtless we cannot pursue a better course 
for the propagation of timber- trees : For though it seem but a trivial 
design, that one should make a nursery of foresters ; yet it is not to be 
imagined, without the experience of it, what prodigious numbers a very 
small spot of ground, well cultivated, and destined for this purpose, 
would be able to furnish towards the sending forth of yearly colonies 
into all the naked quarters of a lordship or demesne ; being, with a 
pleasant industry, liberally distributed amongst the tenants, and disposed 
of about the hedge-rows, and other waste and uncultivated places for 
timber, shelter, fuel, and ornament, to an incredible advantage. This 
being a cheap and laudable work, of so much pleasure in the execution, 
and so certain a profit in the event, when once well done, (for, as 1 
affirmed, a very small plantarium, or nursery, will, in a few years, stock a 
vast extent of ground,) has made me sometimes in admiration at the 
universal negligence ; as well as raised my admiration, that seeds and 
plants of such different kinds, should, like so many tender babes and 
infants, suck and thrive at the same breasts ; though there are some 
indeed will not so well prosper in company, requiring peculiar juices : 
But this niceness is more conspicuous in flowers and the herbaceous 
offspring, than in foresters, which require only diligent weeding and fre- 
quent cleansing, till they are able to shift for themselves ; and as their 
vessels enlarge and introsume more copious nourishment, they often 
starve their neighbours. 

2. Having therefore made choice of such seeds as you would sow, by 
taking and gathering them in their just season, that is, when dropping 
ripe, and as has been said, from fair thriving trees, and found out some 
fit piece of ground, well fenced, respecting the south-east rather than 



OF FOREST-TREES. 39 

the full south, and well protected from the north and west, let it be CHAP. II. 
broken up the winter before you sow, to mellow it ; especially if it be a ' '^"i^-' 
clay, and then the furrow should be made deeper, or so at least as you 
would prepare it for wheat : Or you may trench it with the spade, by 
which means it will the easier be cleansed of whatsoever may obstruct 
the putting forth, and insinuating of the tender roots. 

Qui serere ingenuum volet agrum. 
Liberal arva prius fruticibus ; 

Falce ruboSj filicemque resecat. boeth. lib. iii. Met. 1. 

He that for wood his field would sow. 
Must clear it of the shrubs that grow ; 
Cut brambles up, and the fern mow. 

Having given it a second stirring, immediately before you sow, cast 
and dispose it into rills, or small narrow trenches, of four or five inches 
deep, and in even lines, at two feet interval, for the more commodious 
runcation, hawing, and dressing the trees : Into these furrows, about 
the new or increasing moon, throw your Oak, Beech, Ash, Nuts, all the 
glandiferous seeds, mast and key-bearing kinds, so as they lie not too ' 
thick, and then cover them very well with a rake, or fine-toothed harrow, 
as they do for peas : Or, to be more accurate, you may set them as they 
do beans, especially the Nuts and Acorns, and every species by 
themselves, for the Roboraria, Glandaria, Ulmaria, &c. which is the 
better way " : This is to be done at the latter end of October, for the 
autumnal sowing, and in the lighter ground about February, for the 



" The most natural, direct, and general way of raising trees and plants is from seeds. 
In order to this, proper soils must be prepared for them, as suitable as possible to their 
respective natures ; and when the ground is ready, and well furnished with the embryo 
plants, it is properly and significantly called the Seminary. Its situation should be as 
near the nursery as possible ; and as it is of the utmost consequence to preserve the young 
plants from being cropped by hares in the winter, the ground should be fenced round 
with pales of a sufficient height. In the beginning of winter let the land be trenched 
about two spits deep, working the sward to the bottom ; and during the spring, the 
surface should be carefully kept clear from weeds. About Midsummer, unless the soil be 
very rich, let some rotten dung be spread over the surface, after which it should again be 
trenched. By this second operation the rotten sward will be brought to the top, and the 
soil will put on a mellow appearance. From Midsummer to September, the ground should 
be kept clear of weeds ; and just before the seeds are committed to it, it should again be 



40 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. vernal. For other seminations in general, some divide the spring in 



three parts, the beginning, middle, and end ; and the like of the autumn, 
both for sowing and planting, and accordingly prepare for the work such 
nursery furniture as seems most agreeable to the season : 



Good husbandry will force a soil that's bad. 

Note, that six bushels of Acorns will sow or plant an acre at one 
foot distance : And if you mingle amongst the Acorns the seeds of 

trenched, -which will effectually produce an uniform mixture of all the parts. This being 
done, let the ground be levelled, and the beds laid out for the different purposes, reserving 
proper portions for the reception of such seeds as must be sown in spring. 

A very judicious planter has recommended to me the following method of making a 
Seminary. Trench the ground in November eighteen inches deep, if the soil will admit 
of it ; but M'here the staple is too thin, one foot will be sufficient, in which case the sward 
must be pared off very thin, and laid in the bottom of the trench. The following year let 
this land be cultivated with a crop of cabbages, turnips, or rape, which must be eat off by 
sheep. After this a common digging will be sufficient, previous to its being formed into 
beds for the reception of the seeds. It will be necessary to remark upon this mode of 
preparation, that the urine of sheep is considered as one of the most cherishing manures 
for all plants raised in a Seminary. 




Proinde nemus sparsa cures de glande parandum : 
Sed tamen ante tuo mandes quam semina campo. 
Ipse tibi duro robustus vomere fossor 
Omne solum subigat late, explanetque subactum. 
Cumque novus fisso primum de germine ramus 
Findit humum, rursus ferro versanda bicorni 
Consita vere novo tellus, cultuque frequenti 
Exercenda, herbae circum ne forte nocentes 
Proveniant, germenque ipsum radicibus urant. 
Nec cultu campum cunctantem urgere frequenti, 
Et saturare fimo pudeat, si forte resistat 
Culturae : nam tristis humus superanda colendo est. 



RAPINUS. 



Then see your hopeful grove with Acorns sown; 
But e'er your seed into the field be thrown. 
With crooked plough first let the lusty swain 
Break up, and stubborn clods with harrow plane : 
Then, when the stem appears, to make it bare. 
And lighten the hard earth with hough, prepare : 
Hough in the spring, nor frequent culture fail. 
Lest noxious weeds o'er the young wood prevail. 
To barren ground with toil large manure add ; 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



41 



Genista Spinosa, or Furze, they will come up without any damage, and cHAP. II. 
for a while prove a sufficient fence, and will be killed by the shade of ^'^V^ 
the young Oaklings, before they become able to do them any prejudice. 

One rule I must not omit, that you cast no seeds into the earth whilst 
it either actually rains, or that it be over sobbed, till moderately dry. 



The Seminary being now ready, it follows that the planters should be instructed in the 
manner of sowing and raising the seeds of Forest-trees ; and as Bradley, Miller, Hanbury, 
Weston, and Mawe, have published useful directions upon this head, I flatter myself that 
I shall be thought right in transcribing their authorities for the manner of raising the 
following trees from seed. 

OAK. 

The Oak, the pride and glory of the Forest, is a native of this country, and suits 
itself to all sorts of soils. It is of slow growth ; but its cultivation is of the utmost 
consequence to this nation. In order to raise this tree, let the acorns be procured from 
straight thriving trees, when they are full ripe and begin to fall. In February or March, 
(or in October, if the autumnal sowing be more agreeable,) prepare the beds four feet wide ; 
rake the earth out into the alleys two inches deep, and draw lines across the bed at four 
inches asunder with a sharp-pointed stick ; on these lines lay the acorns at about two 
inches distance from each other ; when the bed is finished, press the seeds gently down 
with the back of the spade to keep them in their places, then spread the earth over them 
two niches thick, and rake the beds even ; by their being planted in rows four inches 
asunder, a two-inch hoe can pass betwixt the rows without hurting the plants, by which 
the weeds are more easily destroyed, and the stirring the earth so much will cause the 
plants to grow the more, which advantage is lost if they are sown broadcast. It will be 
necessary to place some traps in the alleys to catch the mice, particularly after autumnal 
sowing ; the crows are also very fond of acorns ; therefore it will be proper to guard 
against these enemies, or all your labour will be lost. For two years the plants may 
remain in the seed-bed, with only the care of weeding them constantly in summer, and 
spreading a little fresh earth and ashes among them against the winter. They must then be 
transplanted, in March or October, either where they are to remain, or else into the nursery : 
if into the nursery, it must be in rows two feet and a half asunder, and each plant at 
eighteen inches distance, where they must be constantly hoed, and the ground dug 
between them before winter, till they are planted out for timber. 

ELM. 

The Wych Elm is the only one that ripens its seeds well in this country. The seed 
must be gathered the beginning of June, laid in a dry place for a few days, and then it 
will be fit to sow. After having formed the beds four feet wide, rake out the earth, 
about two inches deep, and sift it into the beds again, except leaving about half an inch 
of it to cover the seeds ; rake it level again, and flat it a little with the back of the spade, 
Volume I. N 



42 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. 't'o this might something be expected concerning the watering of our 
'"^^"'''"^^ Seminaries and new Plantations ; which indeed require some useful 
directions, especially in that you do by hand. Pour it not with too great 
a stream on the stem of the plant, which washes and drives away the 



then sow the seeds, and sift the remaining earth over them. When you have sown the 
seeds, the beds must be hooped, and covered with mats to screen them from the sun ; 
but when it rains, take them off; and if it be very dry weather, the beds must be 
frequently and gently watered. In about a month, many of the young plants will appear ; 
towards September the mats may be taken away, but before winter the beds must be 
well weeded, and a quarter of an inch of ashes sifted over them. In spring the rest will 
appear; and during the summer they must be constantly weeded, frequently watered in 
dry weather, and have some earth sifted over them. The February following they must 
be taken out of the seed-bed and planted in rows three feet asunder, and each plant at 
eighteen inches distance, where they are to remain with the usual care of digging 
between the rows, and hoeing the weeds in summer. 

BEECH. 

Gather a sufficient quantity of mast, about the middle of September, when it begins 
to fall ; spread it upon a mat, in an airy place, for six days, to dry ; and after that you 
may either proceed to sowing it immediately, or you may put it up in bags, in order to 
sow it neai-er the spring ; which method I would rather advise, as it will keep very well, 
and there will be less danger of having it destroyed by mice or other vermine, by which 
kinds of animals these seeds are greatly relished. The ground being ready for the seeds, 
line your beds out four feet wide, with alleys a foot and a half or two feet broad, for this 
is the properest width for raising the seeds of all sorts of forest-trees ; let the earth be raked 
out of each bed, one inch deep ; and, after having levelled the bottom, and gently 
tapped it down with the spade, sow the seeds all over it, even and regular ; then tap them 
down with the back of the spade, and cover them over with mould an inch deep. In the 
spring of the year, many of the plants will make their appearance, whilst other's will not 
come up till the following spring. After they have been two years in the seminary, they 
must be planted, in the nursery way, on some double-dug gi'ound. The rows should be 
two feet and a half asunder, and the plants at eighteen inches distance in the rows. 
The rows ought to be kept clean of weeds in the summer, and dug between every 
winter. Here they may remain till they are to be planted out for continuance. 

ASH 

Procure the keys from healthy young thriving trees in October or November ; rake some 
of the earth off into the alleys, to lower the bed about an inch ; sow the keys moderately 
thick, then throw the earth back again lightly with a spade, or else sift it over them, an 
inch thick, and rake it level. In spring, with a very small light iron rake, (the teeth 
about an inch asunder,) rake off the moss, pull up the weeds, and again sift a little earth 
over the beds. They will want no other care the first year, except weeding. The 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



43 



mould from the roots and fibres ; but at such distance as it may percolate CHAP, 
into the earth, and carry its virtue to them, with a shallow excavation, """^^ 
or circular basin, about the stalk ; and which may be defended from 
being too suddenly exhausted and drunk up by the sun, and taken away 



second spring, in the first open weather in February, rake off very gently the earth as 
before, sift fresh over them, about half an inch thick, and in March and April the young 
plants will appear in plenty. During the summer they must be constantly weeded, and 
in very dry weather, now and then watered; in October weed them again, and sift 
some coal-ashes half an inch thick over them ; but if the heavy rains in the summer have 
laid the roots bare, it will be necessary to sift a little earth amongst them first. No 
persons, unless they have practised this method of sifting earth and ashes over their 
seedling plants before winter, can conceive the advantage they receive from it; it 
strengthens the stems, prevents moss from growing amongst them, and secures them from 
being turned out of the ground by the frost. The next spring prepare some beds six feet 
wide, with a path of two feet betwixt each ; plant all of a size in each bed, at one foot 
square, first shortening the tap-roots, and also the side ones ; in this bed they must remain 
for two years, hoeing the ground when any weeds appear, and against winter sprinkling 
a few ashes amongst them. After standing at this distance for two years, they will want 
removing ; they must then be planted out into your nursery, in rows three feet asunder, 
and each plant at one foot distance, where they are to remain till they are wanted for 
planting out for good ; but observe to keep the weeds constantly down when small, for 
then a labourer with a Dutch hoe can clean near half an acre in a day, and your trees 
will thrive amazingly by such a practice. 

As the Ash keys do not make their appearance till the second spring, some judicious 
persons recommend them to be bedded in dry mould, and treated in the manner of haws. 
This method has many apparent advantages. In general the keys are sown too thick, 
which makes the plants come up tall and weak ; a practice much to be condemned. 

LARCH 

In the winter let a sufficient quantity of cones be procured, and kept till the spring of 
the year. Just before sowing, let them be opened or torn into four quarters by a knife, 
the point of which must be thrust exactly down the centre, so that the seeds in their 
respective places may not be damaged. Formerly, great pains were bestowed in getting 
at the seeds, by cutting off the scales of the cones singly, and letting the seeds drop. 
This occasioned great expense to those who wanted a quantity of seeds; so that it is 
now wholly laid aside, for the more easy method of opening them with knives, and then 
threshing them. A certain price is generally allowed per thousand to the poor for opening 
them. When a sufficient quantity is opened, they should be threshed in a room, which 
will divide the scales, and dislodge the seeds, without injuring many of them. Three 
thousand cones will generally produce about a pound of good seed. The cones being 
sufficiently broken, and the seeds threshed out, they should be winnowed or sieved, to 
have clear seeds ; after which they will be ready for sowing in April. Let the seminary 

N 2 



44 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. before it grow mouldy. The tender stems and branches should yet be 
'^'y^^ more gently refreshed, lest the too intense rays of the sun darting on 
them, cause them to wither ; as we see in our fibrous flower-roots newly 
set. In the mean time, for the more ample young plantations of forest 



consist of a spot of fine light earth, and let the seeds be sown in beds a quarter of an inch 
deep. After the plants have made their appearance, they should be gently refreshed with 
water in dry weather, and carefully kept clean of weeds during the whole summer. By 
the autumn they will not have shot more than an inch or two ; and in spring they 
should be pricked out in beds about three inches asunder. The second spring they must 
be taken out of these beds with care, and planted in the nursery, in rows three feet 
asunder, and the plants eighteen inches from each other ; and here they may remain until 
they are fit to plant out for good, which will be about the second or third year after. 
When they grow well in the nursery, I would advise them to be planted out where they 
are to continue, after having got two years strength, for these trees always thrive best 
that are removed small from the nursery, if they are only of a sufficient size not to be 
injured by the weeds. For an improved method of raising the Lai-ch, consult its history 
in the Chapter on Pines. 

CHESTNUT. — 

Before you attempt planting any Chestnuts, whether Foreign or English, put them into a 
tub of water, and let those that swim be thrown away. The middle of February draw 
four drills along each bed, at a foot distance and five inches deep ; in these drills place the 
nuts at about four inches asunder, and cover them well. When the plants appear, weed 
them very carefully, and if you make use of an hoe, it must be done with great care, for 
fear of hurting the tender bark ; but if any weeds break off within the ground, a 
carpenter's chissel, about an inch broad, will be of great use in getting the roots up 
without damaging the plants. In the seminary they must stand two years, be well weeded 
and earthed up before winter, and then some ashes spread amongst them. In February 
they will want transplanting into the nursery (the ground being first double dug) in rows 
three feet asunder, and each plant at eighteen inches distance ; after they have remained 
there another year, cut them down to the ground, by which they will shoot very strongly 
with handsome straight stems, and overtake those that have not undergone the same 
operation. Here they may remain four or five years, keeping them clean from weeds, 
and digging between the rows. 

WALNUT. 

Having marked the trees that produce the finest nuts, either for thinness of shell or 
goodness of taste, we must proceed to gather them when they begin to fall. But as 
collecting them by the hand would be tedious, they may be beat down by long poles 
prepared for that purpose. Having procured the quantity wanted, let them be preserved, 
with their husks on, in sand, till the beginning of February, which is the time for planting 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



45 



and other trees, I should think the hydraulic engine called the Quench-Jire, cHAP. II. 
(described in the Philosophical Transactions, number 128,) might be '•"^"Y^^ 
made very useful, if rightly managed, and not too violently pointed 
against any single trees, but so exalted and directed, as the stream being 



them. This is to be done in the following manner : Let drills be made across the seminary, 
at one foot asunder, and about two inches and a half deep, and let the nuts be put into 
them at the distance of about four inches. In spring the young plants will come up. In 
this situation they should continue for two years, being constantly kept clear of weeds, 
when they will be of a proper size to plant out in the nursery. The ground should be 
prepared, as has been always directed, by double digging ; and the trees, having their 
tap-roots shortened, should be planted therein, in rows of two feet and a half asunder, and 
at the distance of a foot and a half in the rows. Here they may remain, with the same 
culture as has been all along directed for the management of timber-trees, till they are of 
a proper size for planting out for good. If they are designed for standards to be planted 
in fields, &c. before they are taken out of the nursery they should be above the reach of 
cattle, which would otherwise wantonly break their leading shoots, though they do not 
care to eat them, on account of their extraordinai-y bitterness. They ought likewise to 
be removed with the greatest caution, and the knife should be very sparingly applied to 
the roots. They must also be planted as soon as possible after taking up ; and this work 
should be always done soon after the fall of the leaf, in the manner that will be directed 
for planting out standard timber-trees. If these trees are intended to form a wood, for 
which purpose they answer extremely well, I would advise to take them out of the nursery 
when they are about three or four feet high, and to plant them about three yards asunder ; 
and, after their heads begin to touch, they should be thinned. By this means, these large 
and branching trees will be drawn up, with beautiful stems, to a great height. At the 
last thinning of the trees, the standards should be left at about thirty feet distance : But if 
the owner expects to reap the benefit of the fruit, the distance ought to be seven or eight 
feet more. 

LIME. 

Procure the seeds from the red-twigged Lime, by beating them down with a pole in 
October ; and spread them in a dry place for a few days before you sow them : Prepare 
your beds four feet wide, and rake the earth out about an inch deep ; level the bed, and 
then sow the seeds about an inch asunder, pressing them down gently with the back of the 
spade, and covering them. In spring they will appear, and must be constantly weeded, 
and watered a little in very dry weather ; before winter, sift some ashes over them to 
destroy the moss. The plants must remain in the seed-bed two years, and then they will 
be fit to plant out into the nursery in rows two feet and a half asunder, and each tree at 
eighteen inches distance ; but before they are planted, shorten the roots a little, and cut 
olF any side-branches. In this place they may remain for several years, (for they will 
bear removing at any size,) with hoeing the weeds down in summer, and digging between 
them every year ; but as you want them, it is better to take away every other tree, which, 
by giving more air, will increase the growth of those that remain. 



46 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. spread, the water might fall on the ground like drops of rain ; which I 
-^"^^^ should much prefer before the barrels and tumbral way. Rain, river, or 
pond- waters, reserved in tubs or cisterns, simple or enriched, and abroad 
in the sun, should be frequently stirred, and kept from stagnation. 



HORSE-CHESTNUT. . 

Put the nuts in a tub of water, and throw away all that swim ; plant them in the same 
manner as the other Chestnuts, except that they are better put in the ground in October; 
for if tliey are kept till the spring many will miscarry. In spring they will appear, 
and when one year old they must be taken up, the tap-roots shortened, and then planted 
in the nursery, in rows three feet asunder, and each plant at eighteen inches distance: 
but there is this difference from the other Chestnuts, that these make their whole shoot in 
about three weeks or a month's time, and after that only increase in thickness ; therefore 
during that period it would certainly forward them to give the ground an hoeing, though 
it was dug in the spring ; and if the beginning of May should prove dry, which is some- 
times the case, it will be proper to give the plants a few gentle waterings. Be careful 
not to prune these trees after they are planted, for they will not bear it ; and indeed their 
own beautiful natural shape indicates, that they want no assistance from art. 

SYCAMORE. 

In the autumn when the keys are ripe, they may be gathered, and in a few days after 
sown, as has been directed for the Ash. In spring the plants will appear, and make a 
shoot of about a foot and a half by the Autumn following, if the ground of the seminary be 
tolerably good, and they are kept clean from weeds. The spring after they come up, they 
should be planted in the nursery, in rows two feet and a half asunder, and their distance 
in the rows must be one foot and a half. Here they may remain till they are big enough 
to plant out for good, with no further trouble than taking off unsightly side-branches, and 
digging between the rows. 

MAPLE 

If a quantity of these trees are wanted, they may be raised in the same manner as the 
Sycamore, and managed accordingly. 

MULBERRY < 

This tree is propagated two ways ; by seeds, and by layers. Where the former can be 
procured, it is the most expeditious way of raising great quantities ; and whoever has a 
correspondence in the south of France, or in Italy, may, through that channel, obtain them. 
Having the seeds ready, let a fine warm border of rich mellow earth be prepared ; and let 
this border be hooped, in order to support mats to defend the young plants, at then- first 
appeai-ance, from frosts. If no such border can be easily had, it will be proper to make a 
gentle hot-bed, and cover it with rich fat mould: This also must be hooped as the border. 
Then sow the seeds in little drills, about a quarter of an inch deep. The middle of March 



OF FOREST-TREES. 47 

3. Your plants beginning now to peep, should be earthed up, and cHAP. II. 
comforted a little, especially after breaking of the greater frosts, and ^«^*v^^ 
when the swelling mould is apt to spue them forth ; but when they are 
about an inch above ground, you may, in a moist season, draw them up 



is the best time for this work : and when the young plants appear, which will be in about 
six weeks, they must be constantly covered with mats in the night-time to guard against 
the effects of frost. During the summer they should be kept clear from weeds, and 
covered from the extreme heat of the sun while the hot months continue. Whenever any 
cloudy or rainy weather approaches, the mats should be always taken off, that the plants may 
enjoy the benefit of it. By thus carefully nursing the beds, keeping them clear from weeds, 
watering the plants in dry seasons, covering them from the parching sun, and uncovering 
them again in the night, or when the weather is cloudy or rainy, the plants by autumn 
will be got pretty strong ; though not so strong as to be left to themselves. The following 
winter they will require some care. When the frosts approach, they must be carefully 
covered with the mats, as in the spring ; for without this protection many of them would 
be injured, and the greatest pai-t killed, at least down to the ground. In this bed they 
may stand two years, when they will be strong enough to plant out in the nursery. The 
ground for this purpose being double dug, the young plants should be set in rows, at two 
feet and a half distance, and one foot and a half asunder in the rows. There they may 
remain till they are of a sufficient size to plant out for good, 

HORNBEAM. 

In the autumn the seeds are ripe ; when, having gathered a sufficient quantity for the 
purpose, let them be spread upon a mat a few days to dry. After this, they should be 
sown in the seminary, in beds four feet wide, with an alley of about two feet, in the 
manner directed for raising the Ash. In this bed they will remain till the second spring, 
when they will make their appearance. During the summer of their concealment, the 
weeds should constantly be plucked up as soon as they peep ; for if neglected, the fibres 
of their roots will strike so deep as to occasion many of the seeds to be drawn out on 
weeding the ground. After the young plants appear, they should constantly be kept clear 
of weeds ; and if they were now and then gently refreshed with water, in dry weather, it 
would prove highly serviceable to them. In the spring following they may be taken out 
of these beds, and planted in the nursery. 

MOUNTAIN ASH, OR QU I C K E N - T RE E. 

Having procured a sufficient quantity of berries, they should be sown, soon after they 
are ripe, in the seminary, about half an inch deep, in beds made as before directed : they 
frequently lie till the second spring, before they make their appearance. In the spring 
following, let them be taken from the seed-bed, and pknted in the nursery. 



48 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. where they are too thick, and set them immediately in other hnes or 
"^"^/-^^ beds prepared for them ; or you may plant them in double fosses, where 
they may abide for good and all, and to remain till they are of a compe- 
tent stature to be transplanted ; where they should be set at such distances 



BIRCH. 

The common Birch is raised from seeds, and the varieties are continued by layers. 
The seeds should be gathered in the autumn before they drop from their scales, which will 
happen soon after they begin to open. In a day or two they should be sown in the semi- 
nary, in a superficial manner ; and after they are come up, the plants should be carefully 
kept clear of weeds for the first summer. The spring following they may be planted out 
in the nursery : the rows must be two feet and a half asunder, and the plants a foot and a 
half distant in the rows. Here they may continue till they are of a sufficient size to be 
planted out where they are to remain. 

SCOTCH FIR. 

Having obtained a quantity of good seeds, let them be sown in beds of light loamy mouldy 
sometime in the beginning of April, or sooner, if the weather be favourable. In about six 
w^eeks the young plants will make their appearance, and then is the time to watch them 
carefully ; for if the sparrows, or other birds, once find them out, they will destroy them 
as fast as they come up. In order, therefore, to secure the crop, it will be proper to have 
the beds well netted soon after beinsf sown, and strings of sewellins' drawn across. As 
soon as the plants are come up and have parted with their husks, the netting and sewel- 
ling may be removed : all this summer the beds must be kept clear of weeds, and in the 
latter end of the following March, or beginning of April, the plants must be pricked out, 
at the distance of four inches from each other, into beds properly prepared. After re- 
maining in these beds two years, the plants should be removed into the nursery, where 
they should be planted in rows three feet asunder, and the trees one foot and a half distant 
in the rows. In this place they must continue till they are required to be planted out for 
good. And here it will be proper to remark, that bleak and cold situations require the 
firs to be planted from the seed-bed; of which a particular account is given in the twenty- 
second chapter of the first book. 

WILD PINE. 

This tree may be raised in the same manner as the Scotch Fir ; and the cones should be 
prepared and the seeds obtained according to the directions given for that tree. They 
should also be sown at the same time ; and in about six weeks the young plants will ap- 
peal*. They will make a short shoot the first summer ; and in the spring following they 
should be pricked out in the nursery beds, at a foot asunder each away. After your plants 
have taken to the ground, they will want no farther care than keeping them clean of weeds, 
till the latter end of September, or beginning of April following ; in either which months they 
should be planted out for good, if possible ; but if the ground cannot be got ready for their 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



49 



as their several kinds require : but if you draw them only for the thinning cHAP, 
of your Seminary, prick them into some empty beds (or a plantarium "^^"^ 
purposely designed) at one foot interval, leaving the rest at two or 
three. 



reception, they must undergo a second removal in the nursery way, otherwise they will 
mostly die when planted out ; for it is difficult to make this tree thrive when grown large, 
if it has not been used to constant moving. 

WEYMOUTH PINE.— 

We3'mouth Pines being the most beautiful and most valuable of all the different sorts, 
every Gentleman should plant some of them ; it is from these trees that our ships are 
furnished with masts ; the trees now produce good seeds here, therefore may be procured 
in greater plenty than they used to be. If these seeds are not sown in boxes or pots, 
which is by much the best way, they must be covered with mats in the heat of the day, 
during the violent heat of the summer, and uncovered every night ; but if sown in pots or 
boxes, they will be more easily moved into the shade in summer, and brought back to a 
warmer situation in winter. April is the season for sowing these and other Pines. After 
the plants are come up, sift some earth amongst them, if they appear weak, or are beaten 
down after heavy rains ; and before winter, sift some ashes over them : then in spring plant 
them out into beds six feet wide, at eight inches asunder each way : there let them remain 
two years, being constantly weeded, and the earth frequently stirred up with a small hoe, 
and before winter spread some ashes among them. The second spring they must.be 
planted out into rows, eighteen inches asunder, and each row at three feet distance, where 
they may stand two or three years ; and if they are not then intended to be planted out 
where they are to remain, they must be taken up, and planted again at two feet distance 
from each other, and the rows three feet asunder. This tree will bear planting out when 
six or eight feet high ; though not so many will live as when planted at a lower standard. 

SWAMP PINE. 

Its propagation is the same as the Weymouth Pine ; and the planting out, and after- 
management of the trees, is also similar. 

— STONE PINE. 

The Stone Pine produces large eatable seeds, and from their size they can easily be 
planted at what distance you please. In spring make some drills an inch deep, and at six 
inches asunder; in these plant the seeds about four inches from each other, and cover 
them with the earth near an inch thick. In dry weather the plants should be gently wa- 
tered, and kept clean from weeds until the following spring, when they should be planted 
out in rows, two feet asunder, and one foot in the rows, where they must continue two 
years ; after that they must be removed to where they are to remain, for they will not 
bear transplanting large, 

Volume I. O 



50 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK r. 4. When your seedlings have stood thus till June, bestow a slight 
•^^y^^ digging upon them, and scatter a little mungy half-rotten litter, fern, 
bean-haume, or old leaves among them, to preserve the roots from 
scorching, and to entertain the moisture ; and then in JNIarch following 



SPRUCE FIR. 

In the beginning of April, having got the seeds out of the cones, which are very long, 
let them be sown in a North border ; for when they come up, by being constantly shaded 
all the summer in such a situation, they will shoot much stronger, and be better to prick 
out the spring following in the nursery. In about six or seven weeks after sowing, the 
young plants will appear, when they should be screened with the usual care from the birds, 
which otherwise would soon destroy them. By the autumn, many of these young plants, 
if they are kept clean from weeds, and watered in dry weather, will have shot two or three 
inches ; and in spring they should be carefully removed out of their seed-beds, taking care 
that the fibres be not broken off or injured. Being thus cautiously taken up, they should 
be as carefully planted in the nursery-ground, at the distance of one foot asunder each 
way. Here they may continue, with keeping them free from weeds, for two or three 
years, when they should be set out in the places where they are designed to remain. 

SILVER FIR. 

These trees are raised by sowing the seeds in a shady border, about the beginning 
of April. They will readily come up if the seeds are good : but as this is not often the 
case, they should be sown very close, otherwise we may depend on having a very thin 
crop. The succeeding summer the plants will require no trouble, except keeping them 
clean from weeds ; and the spring after that, they should be pricked out in beds at about 
four inches distance from each other. There they may stand for two years, when they 
should be planted in the nursery, in rows a foot asunder every way. The year, or at 
farthest two years, after having been set in the nursery, they should be planted out for 
good ; for if they are continued longer, many of them will die when planted out, and 
those which grow, frequently lose their leading-shoot, or meet with so ^ great a check 
as to be hardly able to get into a growing state for several years. 

STRAWBERRY TREE. 

The Arbutus, or Strawberry Tree, is best propagated by seeds ; therefore when the 
fruit is ripe it should be gathered, and mixed with dry sand to preserve the seeds till the 
time of sowing, "fhese seeds should be sown in pots, which should be plunged into an old 
bed of Tanner's bark that has lost its heat, covering the bed with glasses, &c. to keep out 
the frost. This should be done in December, and as the spring advances, if the pots are 
refreshed with water, the plants will come up in the beginning of April, when they should be 
frequently, but sparingly, watered, and constantly kept clean from weeds. As the summer 
advances, if the plants are shaded in the heat of the day, it will greatly promote their 
growth; but in warm weather they must be exposed all night to receive the dew, 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



51 



(by which time it will be quite consumed, and very mellow) you shall CHAP. IL 
chop it all into the earth, and mingle it together. Continue this process ^■^V'^r^ 
for two or three years successively, for till then the substance of the 
kernel will hardly be spent in the plant, which is of main import ; but 



so should only be covered in the middle of the day : with this management the plants will 
rise to the height of five or six inches the first summer. The beginning of October, the 
plants may be shaken out of the pots, and their roots carefully separated, planting them 
singly in small pots filled with light earth ; then plunge the pots into an old bed of 
Tanner's bark, under a common frame, observing to shade them from the sun in the 
middle of the day, and to give them water as they may require : in this bed the pots 
should remain during the winter, observing to expose the plants to the open air, at all 
times when the weather is favourable ; but in frosty weather they must be covered, 
otherwise they will be in danger, if the season prove severe. The spring following, the 
plants may be removed to a very gentle hot-bed, which will require no other covering 
but mats. This will enable them to make strong shoots early in the summer, whereby 
they will be in a better condition to bear the cold of the succeeding winter : in this bed the 
plants may continue most part of the summer ; for if the pots are taken out and set upon 
the ground, the smallness of their size will occasion the earth in them to dry so fast, that 
watering will scarcely preserve the plants alive ; but if they are kept growing all the 
summer, they will be more than a foot high by the next autumn : it will also be advisable 
to screen them from the frost during their continuance in pots, by plunging them into the 
ground in a warm place, and covering them with mats in bad weather. When the plants 
are grown to be two or three feet high, you may shake them out of the pats, and plant 
them in the open ground in the places where they are to remain ; but this should be done 
in April, that they may have time to form good roots before the winter ; and as all the 
earth about the roots may be thus preserved, there will be no fear of succeeding at this 
season. 



HAW- THORN. 

As soon as gathered, let the Haws be buried about a foot thick in a dry trench, and to 
prevent their heating it will be proper to mix some earth with them. Then cover them 
with earth of a sufficient thickness to keep out the wet. In this situation let them remain 
two winters and one summer, and early in March sow them in beds properly prepared. 
In the course of the summer the seeds will come up plentifully. Having stood a yeai- in 
the seed-bed, let the plants be pricked out in beds of fresh earth early in the spring, at the 
distance of four inches from each other ; and during the summer they must be kept clean, 
for the goodness of the Quick depends a great deal upon that operation. After remaining 
two years in those beds, the plants will be of sufficient size to plant out for hedges. Some 
persons recommend the Haws to be sown immediately upon being gathered, but that 
method is attended with many inconveniences. 

O 2 



52 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. then (and that the stature of your young imps invite) you may plant them 
•^^^-y^ forth, carefully taking up their roots, and cutting the stem within an inch 
of the ground, (if the kind, of which hereafter, suffer the knife,) set them 
where they are to continue : If thus you reduce them to the distance of 
forty feet, the intervals may be planted with Ash, which may be felled 
either for poles or timber, without the least prejudice to the Oak : Some 
repeat the cutting, we speak of, the second year, and after March (the 
moon decreasing) re-cut them at half a foot from the surface, and then 
meddle with them no more : But this (if the process be not more severe 
than needs) must be done with a very sharp instrument, and with care, 
lest you violate and unsettle the root ; which is likewise to be practised 
upon all those which you did not transplant, unless you find them very 
thriving trees ; and then it shall suffice to prune off the branches, and 



These observations upon sowing ai'e taken from approved Authors that have wrote for 
the Southern Parts of this Island, which may account for the great distances recom- 
mended in planting from the seed-bed into the nursery. Nurserymen in the Northern 
Counties do not allow much more than half the distance here recommended, and probably 
the greater coldness of their climate may make it necessary to crowd the plants closer 
together. Some other differences may be remarked, which, in like manner, may be 
accounted for from the difference of climate. 

Having thus given some particular directions for forming the Seminary, and afterwards 
stocking it with plants, it will be required to say something concerning the Nursery into 
which the infant seedlings must be removed at proper seasons, in order • to train them for 
planting out. And in fixing upon a proper piece of ground for this purpose, I recommend 
it to be a rich, deep, and stiffish mould, notwithstanding that the trees must afterwards 
be removed into a poorer soil. Reason teaches, that young trees, growing luxuriantly 
and freely in a good soil, will form vigorously and healthy roots, whereby they will be 
qualified to nourish themselves well ; and when they come to be afterwards planted into 
worse lands, they will be enabled, from the strength of their constitution, to feed themselves 
freely with coarser food. On the contrary, young trees, raised upon poor land, by having 
their vessels contracted, and their outward bark mossy and diseased, will be a long time, 
even after being removed to a rich soil, before they attain to a vigorous and 
growing state : and as this is suggested by reason, experience confirms it to be true. 
Having fixed upon a proper place, large enough to contain the quantity of trees 
wanted, let it, in the first place, be well fenced, either with hedges sufficient to keep out 
cattle, or pales or walls to keep out rabbits or hares ; for without such defence a nursery 
will soon be demolished. In October or November, trench the land two spits deep, and 
in spring turn it over again ; after which let the surface be smoothed, and laid out 
in quarters for the reception of the different trees taken from the Seminary. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



53 



spare the tops ; for this does not only greatly establish your plants, by 
diverting the sap to the roots, but likewise frees them from the injury 
and concussions of the winds, and makes them to produce handsome, 
straight shoots, infinitely preferable to such as are abandoned to nature 
and accident, without this discipline : By this means the Oak will become 
excellent timber, shooting into straight and single stems : The Chestnut, 
Ash, &c. multiply into poles, which you may reduce to standards at 
pleasure. To this I add, that as oft as you make your annual trans- 
planting out of the nursery, by drawing forth the choicest stock, the 
remainder will be improved by a due stirring and turning of the mould 
about their roots. 

But that none be discouraged, who may, upon some accident, be 
desirous or forced to transplant trees, where the partial or unequal ground 
does not afford sufficient room or soil to make the pits equally capacious, 
(and so apt to nourish and entertain the roots, as where are no impedi- 
ments,) the worthy Mr. Brotherton, (whom we shall have occasion to 
mention more than once in this treatise,) speaking of the increase and 
improvement of roots, tells us of a large Pinaster, two feet and a half in 
diameter, and about sixty feet in height, the lowest boughs being thirty 
feet above the ground, wliich did spread and flourish on all sides alike, 
though it had no root at all towards three quarters of its situation, and 
but one quarter only into which it expanded its roots so far as to seventy 
and eighty feet from the body of the tree : the reason was, its being 
planted just within the square angle of the corner of a deep, thick, and 
strong stone-wall, which was a kind of w^harfing against a river running 
by it, and so could have nourishment but from one quarter. And this I 
likewise might confirm of two Elms, planted by me about thirty-five years 
since ; which being little bigger than walking-staves, and set on the 
very brink of a ditch or narrow channel, not always full of water, wharfed 
with a M'^all of a brick and half in thickness to keep the bank from falling 
in, are since grown to goodly and equally spreading trees of near two 
feet diameter solid timber, and of stature proportionable. The difference 
between these, and that of the Pine, being their having one quarter 
more of mould for the roots to spread in ; but which is not at all disco- 
vered by the exuberance of the branches in either part. — But to return 
to planting where are no such obstacles. 



54 



A DISCOURSE 



5. Theophrastus, in his third book de Causis, cap. vii. gives us great 
caution in planting to preserve the roots, and especially the earth adhe- 
ring to the smallest fibrils, which should by no means be shaken off, as 
most of our gardeners do, to trim and quicken them, as they pretend, 
which is to cut them shorter ; (though I forbid not a very small topping of 
the straggling threads, which may else hinder the spreading of the rest;) 
not at all considering that those tender hairs are the very mouths and 
vehicles which suck in the nutriment, and transfuse it into all the parts 
of the tree ; and that these once perishing, the thicker and larger roots, 
hard and less spungy, signify little but to establish the stem ; as I have 
frequently experimented in Orange-trees, whose fibres are so very ob- 
noxious to rot, if they take in the least excess of wet : and therefore Cato 
advises us to take care that we bind the mould about them, or transfer 
the roots in baskets, to preserve it from forsaking them ; as now our 
nursery -men frequently do, by which they of late are able to furnish our 
grounds, avenues, and gardens in a moment with trees and other plants, 
which would else require many years to appear in such perfection. In 
this case the earth is already applied, and fitted to the apertures and 
mouths of the fibres ; but it would require some time to bring them in 
appetite again to a new mould, by which to repair their loss, furnish their 
stock, and proceed in their wonted econonomy, without manifest danger 
and interruption ; nor less ought our care to be in the making and dress- 
ing of the pits and fosses into Avhich we design our transplantation, 
which should be prepared and left some time open to macerating rains, 
frosts, and sun, that may resolve the compacted salt, (as some will have 
it,) render the earth friable, mix and qualify it for aliment, and to be 
more easily drawn in and digested by the roots and analogous stomach 
of the trees : this, to some degree, may be artificially done, by burnin g 
of straw^ in the newly opened pits, and drenching the mould with water, 
especially in over dry seasons, and by meliorating barren ground with 
sweet and comminuted Isetations. Let therefore tliis be received as a 
maxim, never to plant a fruit or forest-tree where there has lately been 
an old decayed one taken up, till the pit be well ventilated and furnished 
with fresh mould. 

6. Pliny, the author of the Natural History, tells us, it w^as a vulgar 
tradition in his time, that no tree should be removed under two years 
old, or above three. Cato would have none transplanted less than five 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



55 



fino-ers in thickness ° ; But I have showed why we are not to attend so CHAP. II. 
long for such as we raise of seedlings. In the interim, if these directions ^-^^^^^ 
appear too busy or operose, or that the plantation you intend be very 
ample, a more compendious method will be the confused sowing of 
Acorns, kc. in furrows, two feet asunder, covered at three fingers depth, 
and so for three years cleansed, and the first winter covered with fern 
without any farther culture, unless you transplant them : but, as I showed 
before in nurseries, they should be cut an inch from the ground, and then 
let stand till March the second year, when it shall be sufficient to dis- 
branch them to one only shoot, whether you suffer them to stand, or re- 
move them elsewhere. But to make an essay what seed is most agree- 
able to the soil, you may, by the thriving of a promiscuous semination, 
make a judgment of 

Quid qiiacque ferat regio, et quid quseque recuset. 
What each soil bears, and what it does refuse. 

Transplanting those which you find least agreeing with the place, or else 
by copsing the starvelings in the places where they are newly sown, 
cause them sometimes to overtake even their untouched contemporaries. 

Something may here be expected about the fittest season for this work 
of transplanting : of which having spoken in another treatise as well as * Pomona, 
in divers other places throughout this of Forest-trees, I shall need add 
little, after I have recommended the earliest removals, not only of all 
the sturdy sorts in our woods, but even of some less tender trees in our 
orchards. Pears, Apples, Vulgar Cherries, &c. whilst we favour the de- 
licate and tender Murals, and such as are pithy, as the Walnut, and some 
others. But, after all, what says the plain Woodman, speaking of Oaks, 
Beech, Elms, Hawthorns, and even what we call Wild and Hedge-fruit? 
" Set them," says he, " at All-hallon-tide, and command them to pros- 
" per ; set them at Candlemas, and entreat them to grow." Nor needs 
it explanation. ' 



" Cato does not say, that no trees ought to be transplanted that are less than five 
fingers in thickness : His directions only regard the manner of transplanting trees that are 
five fingers in thickness. 



/ 



56 



A DISCOURSE 



7. But here some may inquire what distances I would generally 
assign to transplanted trees ; to this somewhat is said in the ensuing pe- 
riods, and as occasion offers ; though the promiscuous rising of them in 
forest-v/ork, wild and natural, is to us, I acknowledge, more pleasing 
than all the studied accuracy in arranging of them ; unless it be where they 
conduct and lead us to avenues, and are planted for vistas, (as the Italian 
term is,) in which case, the proportion of the breadth and length of the 
walks, &c. should govern, as well as the nature of the tree ; with this only 
note, that such trees as are rather apt to spread than mount, as the Oak, 
Beech, Walnut, &c. be disposed at wider intervals than such as grow best 
in consort, as the Elm, Ash, Lime-tree, Sycamore, Fir, Pine, &c. Regard 
is likewise to be had to the quality of the soil for this work : V. G. If 
trees that affect cold and moist grounds be planted in hot and dry places, 
then set them at closer order ; but trees which love dry and thirsty grounds 
at farther distance. The like rule may also guide in situations exposed 
to impetuous winds and other accidents, which may serve for general 
rules in this piece of tactics. In the mean time, if you plant for regular 
walks, or any single trees, a competent elevation of the earth in circle, 
and made a little hollow, like a shallow basin, for the reception of water 
and refreshing the roots, will be required ; sticking th orns about the 
edges, to protect them from cattle, were not amiss. Fruit-trees, thus 
planted, may be set round with beans, which will produce a small crop, 
and shade the surface, perhaps, without detriment ; but this more properly 
belongs to the garden. Most shrubs of Evergreen, and some trees, may 
be planted very near one another ; Myrtles, Laurel, Bays, Cypress, Yew, 
Ivy, Pomegranates, and others, also need little distance, and indeed 
whatever is proper to make hedges ; but for the Oak, Elm, Walnut, 
Firs, and the taller timber-trees, let the dismal effects of the late 
hurricane, never to be forgotten ! caution you never to plant them too 
near the mansion, or indeed any other house, that so, if such accident 
happen, their fall and ruin may not reach them. 

8. To leave nothing omitted which, may contribute to the stability of 
our transplanted trees, something is to be premised concerning their 
staking, and securing from external injuries, especially from winds and 
cattle ; against both which, such as are planted in copses, and in ample 
woods, are sufficiently defended by the mounds and their closer order, 



OF FOREST-TUEES. 



57 



and made fast to one another by short pieces above and beneath, in which cHAP. II. 
a few brambles being stuck, they will be abundantly secured, without '•"■^"V^^ 
that choaking or fretting, to which trees are obnoxious that are only 
single staked and bushed, as the vulgar manner is ; nor is the charge 
of this so considerable as the great advantage, if we consider the frequent 
reparations which the other will require. Where cattle do not come, 
I find a good piece of rope tied fast about the neck of trees upon a wisp 
of straw to preserve it from galling, and the other end tightly strained to 
a hook or peg in the ground (as the shrouds in a ship are fastened to the 
masts) sufficiently stablishes my trees against the western blasts without 
more trouble ; for the winds of other quarters seldom infest us : But these 
cords had need be well pitched to preserve them from wet, and so they 
will last many years. I cannot in the mean time conceal what a noble 
person has assured me, that in his goodly plantations of trees in Scotland, 
where they are continually exposed to much greater and more impetuous 
winds than we are usually acquainted with, he never stakes any of his 
trees, but upon all disasters of this kind, causes only his servants to 
re-dress and set them up again as often as they happen to be overthrown, 
which he has affirmed to me, thrive better than those which he has 
staked ; and that at last they strike root so fast, as nothing but the ax 
is able to prostrate them: And there is good reason for this, in my opinion; 
for these concussions open the mould for the more ready insinuations 
of the roots in quest of nourishment. It is in another place I suggest, 
that transplanting Pines and Firs, for want of their penetrating tap-roots, 
are hardly consistent against these gusts after they are grown high, 
especially where they are set close, and in tufts, which betrays them 
to the greater disadvantage ; and therefore such trees do best in walks, 
and at competent distances, where they escape tolerably well. Such 
therefore as we design for woods of them, should be sowed and never 
removed. In the mean time, many trees are also propagated by cuttings 
and layers ; the Evergreens about Bartholomew-tide ; other trees within 
two or three months after, when they will have all the sap to assist them. 
Every body knows the way to do it by slitting the branch a little way, 
and then to plunge it a foot under good mould, leaving as much of 
its extremity above it ; and if it comply not well, to peg it down with an 
hook or two, and so when you find it competently rooted, to cut it off 
Volume I. P 



58 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. beneath, and plant it forth". Other expedients there are, by twisting 
-^"^^^^ the part, or baring it of the rind ; and if it be out of reach of the ground, 
to fasten a tub or basket of earth near the branch, filled with a succulent 
mould, and kept as fresh as may be. For cuttings, about the same 
season, take such as are about the bigness of your thumb, setting them 
a foot in the earth, and near as much out. If it be of soft wood, as 
Willow, Poplar, Alder, &c. you may take much larger truncheons, and 



° There are various ways of layering trees, by which they may be multiplied. In order 
to raise great quantities, a sufficient number of trees should be set, in order to be headed 
down for stools. The ground, previous to planting, should be double dug ; and the 
distances the trees ought to stand from each other should vary according to the size, height, 
or manner they are intended to grow before they are layered. The autumn after planting, 
each tree should be headed to within a few inches of the ground ; and the summer following 
it will afford you plenty of young shoots proper for layering in the autumn. Nevertheless, 
in many trees, it will be the best way to wait two years before you layer them, as each 
stool will afford you ten times the number of layers for the purpose ; and the shoots being 
then many of them side-shoots, and weaker than the strong shoots from the stool the 
autumn before, will, for the most part, more readily strike root : for it is often observed, 
that in very vigorous and strong shoots, of one year's growth, after they have been layered 
a twelvemonth even by slit-layering, the end of the divided part has only swelled, and 
struck no root ; whereas smaller branches on the same tree, in the same space of time, 
have struck good root, and commenced plants fit to be taken off and removed to the nur- 
sery. If the tree has grown from the stool two years, it must be splashed, to bring the 
head and branches down to the ground : all branches which cross, crowd, or any ways 
incommode each other, must be taken out, the ground should be hollowed, and the head 
of each branch brought into the hollow, pegging it down firmly with a strong peg. The 
ends of the young shoots must be also shortened ; for one eye only, for the most part, 
ought to be out of the ground, if you can tell how they will fall, as it will be a safer way 
to do it before the slit is made than afterwards. Then the slit, or twist, or whatever 
method you choose, must be entered upon ; and when all the branches have undergone 
the operation, the mould must be carefully brought in among them, filling all the inter- 
stices, and levelling the whole so that an eye of each may just appear above ground ; and 
if any shoot has been left too long, it may now be shortened, holding it steady with the 
left thumb and fjnger, and cutting off an eye above the ground with the right. When 
the stool is completely layered in this manner, proceed to the next ; and so on till the 
whole be completed. By waiting two years after the heading of the plant for the stools, 
stools which perhaps would hardly have afforded you six plants, will now yield sixty, or more, 
which is a sufficient encouragement for patience ; nay, it is what ought to be practised by 
nurserymen, or gentlemen who want to raise large quantities of trees for sale, or to be 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



59 



so tall as cattle may not reach them ; if harder, those which are young, cHAP. 
small, and more tender ; and if such as produce a knur, or hurry swelling, 
set that part into the ground, and be sure to make the hole so wide, and 
point the end of your cutting so smooth, as that, in setting, it violate 
and strip none of the bark ; the other extreme may be slanted, and so 
treading the earth close, and keeping it moist, you will seldom fail of 
success. By the roots also of a thriving, lusty, and sappy tree, more may 



planted out on their own estates. And when this is the case, two quarters of sufficient 
size should be planted for stools, which coming in alternately, there will be an annual crop 
of layers for the purpose wanted. As soon as the layers are taken off, all scraggy parts 
should be cut off from the stools ; the heads should be refreshed with the knife ; and two 
years aftei", each stool will afford you a sufficient quantity of branches to be layered afresh ; 
during which time the ground should be dug between the stools every winter; and in 
spring and summer the weeds should be hoed and cleared off, as often as they make their 
appearance. Trees of much larger growth than two or three years may be splashed, 
brought down, and layered in this manner ; and when they are grown too large for splash- 
ing, or the nature of the wood will not bear such an operation, they may be thrown on 
their sides. In order to effect this, the mould must be cleared away from the roots, on 
the side you intend the head to be brought down ; and on this side a sufficient number of 
the roots must be cut, that the tree may be brought to the ground, leaving proper roots to 
continue it in a growing state ; but for this very few will be sufficient. When the tree is 
brought down, all the young branches are to be layered in the former manner; and the 
year following, after they are taken off, the tree may be set upright again, cutting off all 
scraggy parts, side-branches that had been beat down, &c. and if you put fresh mould to 
the roots, it will put out as fresh as ever, and may, if you please, afterwards undergo a 
second operation in the like manner. If Magnolias, or large leafy Evergreens, are layered 
in this manner, and the place is not well defended, it will be highly proper to make a 
stake-hedge of good height, at a small distance ; otherwise the high winds having power 
on their large leaves, will frequently break them off before they have taken root. Layers 
may be procured from trees of any size, by building scaffolding of proper height, to support 
tubs or pots filled with good earth, in which to layer the young branches : but this method 
is never practised unless on some very scarce tree, which is desired to be continued in its 
upright state, in as much beauty as possi ble. Neither, indeed, does it deserve to be 
adopted, unless on some such extraordinary occasions, not only on account of the expense 
of building the scaffolding, but of the constant trouble there will be in keeping the mould 
in the pots of a due moisture ; for being elevated in that manner above the ground, it will 
dry very fast ; and if it be not constantly watered, there will be little hope of your layers 
striking root in any reasonable time. — Layering may be performed different ways ; and 
trees of different texture are with different degrees of difficulty made to strike root. It is 
chiefly the young shoots of the preceding summer that the op eration should be performed 

P 2 



60 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. be propagated ; to effect which, early in the spring, dig about its foot, 
"''''^i^''^^ and finding such roots as you may with a httle cutting bend upwards, 
raise them above ground three or four inches, and they will in a short 
time make shoots, and be fit for transplantation ; or in this work you 
may quite separate them from the mother roots, and cut them off. By 
baring likewise the bigger roots discreetly, and hacking them a little, 
and then covering them with fresh mould, suckers may be raised in 
abundance ; which drawing competent roots, Avill soon furnish store of 



on ; though all wood of a loose texture or spungy nature, if several years old, will grow 
very well. The different ways of layering are: 1. By only laying the shoot, whether 
young or old, and covering it over with fine mould. No other trouble than this slight 
layering is necessary for the increase of numbers of trees and shrubs. — 2. By twisting the 
shoots and slightly breaking the bark, numerous trees, which would not so readily take by 
the former method, will emit roots from the bruised parts ; and, if the work be performed 
in the autumn, the shoots will commence good plants by the autumn following. — 3. By 
thrusting an awl through the joint, the young shoots of many trees will sooner emit fibi'es 
from such wounded part, than if they had been otherwise laid in the ground ; and in the 
course of the summer months will commence good plants, fit to be taken off and planted 
out. — 4. Cutting out some small slips of bark, about the joint, will facilitate the shoot's 
striking root, and cause it the sooner to commence a plant. — 5. Twisting of wire round 
the shoot, and pricking it in each side with an awl, has been recommended : some consider 
the twisting as an unnecessary trouble, when the places are pricked with the awl, as the 
fibres always proceed from the wounded places, and not from the parts surrounded by the 
wire. — 6. Slit-layering, or that operation generally known among gardeners by the name 
of Tongue-layering, is the most imiversal, the best, and the safest way of layering trees 
and plants. It is known to every florist, who layers his carnations this way : and is 
practised by all gardeners for almost all sorts of trees which are not known to take by the 
simple method of barely laying the shoots in the ground. It is performed by cutting with 
the knife half way through the shoot at right angles with it, and then turning the edge of 
it upwards, in a perpendicular direction, along the middle of the shoot, half an inch, an 
inch, or more, according to the nature of the stock that is to be layered. The horizontal 
cut in carnation-layering, is always at a joint, and is for the most part practised by 
making the cut at a joint or end, where the performance is on trees. The more elegantly 
to perform this, make the horizontal cut half through ; take out the knife, and insert it 
below that cut, on the heel of the underwood, taking it off and drawing the edge of the 
knife up the middle to the above length. By taking the heel of the underwood off, the 
tongue or bottom of the layer will sit more at ease ; and by being surrounded with mould, 
Avill be the better disposed to strike root, should the parts by any accident be made to 
close again. The shoot being cut in this manner, should be next pegged down into the 
ground, a place being hollowed for the purpose ; then the point of the layer should be 
brought forward, pointing towards the stem of the plant, which will separate the tongue 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



61 



plants, and this is practicable in Elms especiall}'', and all such trees as CHAP. II. 
are apt of themselves to put forth suckers ; but of this more upon occa- ^"^""^r^^ 
sion hereafter. And now to prevent censure on this tedious and prolix 
introduction, I cannot but look on it as the basis and foundation of all 
the structure rising from this v^^ork and endeavour of mine ; since from 
station, sowing, and continual culture and care, proceed all we really 
enjoy in the world. Every thing must have birth and beginning ; and 
afterwards by diligence and prudent care, formed and brought to shape 
and perfection. Nor is it enough to cast seeds into the ground, and 
leave them there, as the Ostrich does her eggs in the Lybian sands, 



from the other part of the brancli ; and to keep it at a distance, a small chip, or such like 
thing, may be inserted near the top of the slit, to keep it open. The mould must now be 
applied ; and after heading the layer down to within one eye or more of the ground, the 
business is done ; in all layering, watering must be applied in summer to keep the ground 
moist, if dry weather should happen. The ground must always be kept clean from weeds ; 
and there are few trees, if layered in this manner in the autumn, and with this manage- 
ment, which will not be ready for taking up the autumn following. Layering on different 
plants may be performed at all times of the year ; though in general, the best season for 
it is in the autumn : nevertheless it may be done successfully for the most part in the 
winter or spring ; and such plants as are found not to take readily by being layered at 
that season, should be layered in June or July, while they are tender, and performing their 
summer's shoot; but as the shoots will then be soft and herbaceous, they must not be too 
much watered, for that will cause them to rot ; therefore it will be a better method to 
cover the surface over the layers with moss, which will prevent the soil from drying too 
fast, so that a little water, now and then, will be sufficient. A large share of the vege- 
table creation may be multiplied by planting only their slips or cuttings in the earth, 
and affording them management suitable to their respective natures. Some trees grow so 
readily this way, that it is the only method practised to raise any desired number of plants. 
The Willow, the Alder, the Poplar, &c. in all their varieties, are instances of the larger 
kinds ; whilst Sage, Rosemary, the Rue-plant, and Southernwood, are some instances of 
the lower ligneous plants, that are, with the utmost facility, multiplied by slips. These 
will grow if planted at any time of the year ; but such as will not prove so obsequious to 
your discipline, you must indulge in the season they require to be set in ; the autumn for 
some, the spring for others ; the early part of the summer for one plant, and the latter 
end of it for another ; all which various circumstances will be particularly described under 
the article of the respective trees. 

P It is commonly reported that the female Ostrich deposits her eggs in the sand, and 
covering them up, leaves them to be hatched by the heat of the climate, and then permits 
the young to shift for themselves. Very little, however, of this history is true ; no 
bird has a stronger affection for her young than the Ostrich, and none watches her eggs 



I 



62 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. without minding tliem more ; (because Nature has deprived her of under- 
"^y^^ standing ;) but great diligence is to be used in governing them, not only 
till they spring up, but till they are arrived to some stature fit for trans- 
plantation, and to be sent abroad, after the same method that our child- 
ren should be educated, and taken care of from their birth and cradle ; 
and afterwards, whilst they are under pedagogues and discipline, for the 
forming of their manners and persons, that they contract no ill habits, 
and take such plyes as are so difficult to rectify and smooth again without 
the greatest industry : for prevention of this in our seminary, the Hke care 
is requisite : whilst the young imps and seedlings are yet tender and 
flexible, they require not only different nourishment and protection 
from too much cold, heat, and other injuries, but due and skilful manage- 
ment in dressing, redressing, and pruning, as they grow capable of being 
brought into shape, and of hopeful expectation, when time has rendered 
them fit for the use and service required, according to their kinds. He 
therefore that undertakes the nursery, should be knowing not only in the 
choice of the seeds, where, when, and how to sow them, but also in the 
time of gestation they require in the womb of their mother-earth before 
parturition, that so he may not be surprized with her delivering some of 
them sooner or later than he expects ; for some will lie two, nay three 
years, before they peep ; most others one, and some a quarter, or a month 



with greater assiduity. It happens, indeed, in those climates, that there is less necessity 
for the continual incubation of the female ; and she more frequently leaves her eggs, as 
they are in no danger of being chilled by the weather ; but though she sometimes forsakes 
them in the day, she always carefully broods over them in the night : and Kolben, who 
saw great numbers of them at the Cape of Good Hope, affirms, that they sit upon their 
eggs like other birds, and that the male and female take this office by turns. Dr. Sparrman 
makes the same observation. Nor is it more true what is said of their forsakinof their 
young after they are excluded the shell. On the contrary, the young ones are not able to 
walk for several days after they are hatched : during this time the old ones are very 
assiduous in supplying them with grass, and are very careful in defending them from 
danger ; nay, they encounter every danger in their defence. When pursued, this animal, 
instead of running directly forwards, and availing himself of his natural speed, takes his 
course in cii-cles ; while the hunters make a small course within, relieve each other, meet 
him at unexpected turns, and keep him thus employed for two or three days together : at 
last spent with famine and fatigue, and finding escape impossible, he endeavours to hide 
himself from those enemies he could not avoid, and covers his head in the sand, or the 
first thicket he meets. The means used by this bird to escape from its pursuers, and the 
manner of its death, are the only things that can, with propriety, be called foolishness. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



63 



or two, whilst the tardy and less forward so tire the hopes of the husband- CHAP, 
man, that he many times digs up the plats and beds in which they were 
sown, despairing of a crop, at the very time they were ready to spring 
and come up, as I have found by experience to my loss. Those of hard 
shell and integument will lie longer buried than others ; for so the 
Libanus Cedar, and most of the coniferous trees, shed their cones late, 
which sometimes remain two winters and as many summers, to open 
their scales glued so fast together, without some external application of 
fire or warm water, which is yet not so natural as when they open of 
themselves The same may be observed of some minuter seeds, even 
among the Olitories, as that of Parsley, which will hardly spring in less 
than a year ; so of the seed of Beet, part in the second and third month, 
which, upon inspecting the skins and membranes involving them, would 
be hard to give a reason for ^ To accelerate this, they use imbibitions 
of piercing spirits, salts, emollients, &cc. not only to the seeds, but to the 
soil, which we seldom find signify much, but rather produce abortion or 
monsters ; and being forced to hasty birth, become nothing so hardy, 
healthful, and lasting as the conception and birth the plants receive from 
nature. These observations premised, I should now proceed to parti- 
culars, and boldly advance into the thickest of the forest, did not method . 
seem to require something briefly to be spoken of trees in general, as they 
are under the name of Plants and Vegetables, especially such as we shall 
have occasion to discourse of in the following work: though we also take 
in some less vulgarly known and familiar, of late endenizened among us, 
and some of them very useful. 

By trees then is meant a ligneous plant, whose property is, for the most 
part, to grow up and erect itself with a single stem or trunk, of a thick 
compacted substance and bulk, branching forth large and spreading 



■J The cones of the Fir tribe should be laid in the sun early in the spring, which 
will open their scales and permit the seeds to be shook out : the pi*actice of opening the 
cones, by laying them upon the floor of a malt-kiln, is highly to be condemned. This ex- 
peditious method is often practised by seedsmen — which rationally accounts for the badness 
of the Fir-seed sometimes purchased from wholesale dealers. 

' In this particular, Mr. Evelyn seems to have been misinformed. Parsley-seed remains 
in the earth about four weeks, and the seed of tlie Beet generally appears in about ten 
days after sowing. 



64 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. boughs, the whole body and external part covered and invested with a 
'^^''^^ thick rind or cortex. These terra^-fihi are what we call Timber- trees, 
the chief subject of our following Discourse. ~- 

Trees are distinguished into subordinate species. Frutices, or Shrubs, 
are ligneous trees, though of a lower and humbler growth, less spreading, 
and rising up in several stems, emerging from the same root, yielding 
plenty of suckers, which being separated, and often carrying with them 
some small fibre, are easily propagated and planted out for a numerous 
store; and this, being clad with a more tender bark, seems to differ 
the frutex from other arboreous kinds ; since as to the shaft and stems 
of such as we account dwarf and pumilo, they rise often to tall and 
stately trees, in the more genial and benign climes 

Suffrutices are Shrubs lower than the former, lignescent, and more 
approaching to the stalky herbs Lavender, Rue, &c. but not apt to 
decay so soon after they have seeded ; whilst both these kinds seem also 
little more to differ from one another, than do trees from them : all of 
them consisting of the same variety of parts, according to their kinds and 
structure, covered with some woody, hard, membraneous or tender rind, 
suitable to their constitution, and to protect them from outward injuries ; 
producing likewise buds, leaves, blossoms, and flow^ers, pregnant with 
fruit, and yielding saps, liquors, and juices, lachrymee, gums, and other 
exsudations, though diversifying in shape and substance, taste, odour, 
and other qualities and operations, according to the nature of the species. 
To compare analogically, and describe minutely the various structure and 
contexture of their several vessels and organs, whose office it is to supply 
the whole plant with all that is necessary to its being and perfection, 
after a stupendous, though natural process, (not altogether different 
from creatures of animal life,) would require an anatomical lecture, which 
is so learnedly and accurately done to our hand by Dr. Grew, Malpighius, 
and other ingenious naturalists'. 



^ For the opinion of different authors concerning the foundation of the distinction of 
vegetables into herbs, trees, shrubs, and under-shrubs, see the note upon page 4. 

' Mr. Evelyn very justly observes, that there is a great analogy between the animal and 
vegetable creation ; and this is peculiarly discovered in the similar manner that plants and 
animals propagate their respective species. It is allowed on all hands that animal con- 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



65 



Besides this general definition, as to what is meant by Trees, Fru- cHAP. 
texes, &c. they are specially distinguished by other characters, viz. Leaves, 
Buds, Blossoms, kc. but more especially by what they produce of more 
importance ; by their fruit ye shall know them. 

The Glandifer^, Oaks, and Ilexes, yield acorns and other useful ex- 
crescences. — The Mast-bearers are the Beech, and such as include their 
seeds and fruit in rougher husks, as the Chestnut-tree, &c. — The Walnut, 
Hasel, Avelans, &c. are the Nuciferag. — To the Coniferas, Resiniferae, 
and Squamiferee, belong the whole tribe of Cedars, Firs, Pines, &c. — 
Apples, Pears, Quinces, and several other Edulge fruits^ Peaches, Apri- 
cots, Plums, &c. are reduced to the Pomiferee. — The Bacciferae are such 
as produce Kernels, Sorbs, Cherries, viz. Holly, Bay, Laurel, Yew, 
Juniper, Elder, and all the Berry-bearers. — The Genistae in general, and 
such as bear their seeds in cods, come under the tribe of Siliquosas. — The 
Lanuginosae are such as bed their seeds in a cottony down. 



ception is performed by the junction of the male and female ; but it has remained a doubt 
with some, whether the union of the sexes be as essential in the propagation of vegetables. 
The great Linnaus has formed his noble system of Botany upon the certainty that all 
plants have male and female organs, either growing upon the same tree, or upon different 
trees of the same species : his method is distinguished by the name of the Sexual 
System, and is now universally acknowledged. On its first appearance, it was received 
with all that caution that becomes an enlightened age ; and Nature was traced experi- 
mentally through all her variations before it was universally assented to. Tournefort 
refused to give it a place in his system ; and Pontedera, though he had carefully examined 
it, treated it as chimerical. The learned Dr. Alston, Professor of Botany in the University 
of Edinburgh, violently opposed it ; but the proofs which Dr. Linnaeus has given amongst 
the aphorisms of his Fundamenta Botanica, and farther illustrated and explained in his 
Philosophia Botanica, are so clear, that the mind does not hesitate a moment in pro- 
nouncing animal and vegetable conception to be the same: there is, however, this 
difference ; in animals fruition is voluntary, but in vegetables necessary and mechanical. 
Another and more striking proof of the analogy between plants and animals may be drawn 
from observations made in their infant states, at which early period they seem to be nourished 
and protected in a similar manner. For this the curious reader is requested to consult 
the note upon page 27, in which he will find sufficient proofs to convince him, that every 
blade of grass which he contemptuously treads upon, has been nurtured in its infancy by 
the hand of Providence, with as much care, and in the same manner, as Man himself, with 
all his pre-eminence of station. 

Volume 1. Q 



66 



A DISCOURSE 



The Ash, Elm, TiHa, Poplar, Hornbeam, Willow, Salices, oic. are 
distinguished by their Keys, Tongues, Samera, Pericarpia, and Theca, 
small, flat, and husky skins including the seeds as in so many foliols, bags, 
and purses, fine membraneous cases. Catkins, Palms, Juluses, &c. need- 
less to be farther mentioned here, being so particularly described in the 
chapters following, as are also the various Evergreens and Exotics. 



OF rOREST-TREES. 



67 



CHAPTER III. 
THE OAK\ 

1. RoBUR, the OAK. I have sometimes considered it very seriously, cHAP. III. 
what should move Pliny to make a whole chapter of one only line, which '^■^^V^-^ 
is less than the argument alone of most of the rest in his huge volume ; 
but the weightiness of the matter does worthily excuse him, who is not 
wont to spare his words or his reader. Glandiferi inaocime generis omnes 
quibus honos apud Bomanos perpetuus. " Mast-bearing trees were princi- 



"Of all the trees of the forest, the OAK demands our first attention, whether we 
consider the dignity of its station, or the variety of uses to which it is applied. Being a 
native of our island, it adapts itself in a wonderful manner to almost every soil ; and, if 
well defended in its infancy, there are few places in which it will not grow to a national 
advantage. This tree naturally delights in a rich, deep, and loamy soil ; but lands of that 
quahty are now more profitably employed in pasture and tillage. However, there are 
large portions of land in this kingdom which yield but a small profit to the owners. Such 
wastes, if situated near rivers, or navigable canals, are nobly calculated for raising Oaks, 
which, at some distant period, may launch themselves into the Ocean, Guardians of 
Liberty and Commerce. 

Dr. Martyn, in his beautiful edition of Mr. Miller's Dictionary, enumerates twenty-six 
species of Oak, but I shall only mention fourteen, of which number nine are deciduous and 
five evergreen. 

1. QUERCUS (^ROBiTR^ foliis deciduis oblongis superne latioribus, sinubus acutioribus: 
angulis obtusis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1414. OaJc with oblong deciduous leaves, broader toward 
the top, having acute indentures, with obtuse angles. The common oak. 
This is the Common English Oak, which, for ship-building and other economical uses, far 
excels all the kinds in the known world. The following is a variety, but Mr. Miller con- 
siders it as a distinct species under the title of 

QUERCUS C fceminaJ foliis deciduis oblongis obtusis, pinnato-sinuatis petiolis brevissimis, 
pedunculis glandorum longissimis. Oak with oblong, obtuse, deciduous leaves, which are 
winged, sinuated, and have very short foot-stalks, with the fouit growing upon long foot-stalks. 
The female oak. 

Mr. Miller observes, that this sort is not so common as the first ; and he informs us, that in the 
Wilds of Kent and Sussex there may be seen many large trees of this kind. According to 
liim, the leaves are not so deeply sinuated as those of the common Oak, nor are they so irre- 
gular, the indentures being opposite, like the lobes of winged leaves ; these have scarce any 
foot-stalks, but sit close to the branches ; the acorns stand upon very long foot-stalks. The 
timber of this kind is accounted, by some, better than that of the first ; and the trees, when 
growing, having a more lofty appearance. 

Q 2 



68 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. pally those which the Romans held in chiefest repute." Lib. xvi. 

cap. iii. — And in the following, where he treats of Chaplets, and the 
dignity of the Civic Crown, he says it might be composed of the leaves 
or branches of any Oak, provided it were a bearing tree, and had acorns 
upon it. It is then for the esteem which these wise and glorious people 
had of this tree above all others, that I will first begin with the Oak ; and 

2. QUERCUS ( CERRis ) foliis oblongis lyrato-pinnatifidis, laciniis transversis acutis, 
subtus subtomentosis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1415. Oak with ohlong leaves which arc lyre-shaped, 
wing-pointed, and have transverse acute jags, which are downy on their under side. Quercus 
calyce hispido, glande minore. C. B. P. 420. Oak with a prickly cup and smaller acorn. — 
Smaller prickly-cupped Spanish oak. 

This grows naturally in Spain. The leaves are oblong and pointed, and frequently indented 
in the middle likeal^re; they are jagged and acute-pointed, a little hoary on their under 
side, and stand upon slender foot-stalks. The acorns are small, and have rough prickly 
cups. 

3. QUERCUS C EScuLus ) foliis pinnato-sinuatis laevibus, fructibus sessilibus. Lin. Sp. 
Plant. 1414. Oak with smooth wing-indented leaves, and fruit sitting close to the branches. 
Quercus parva sive Phagus Graecorum et Esculus Plinii. C. B. P. The small Oak or Pkagiis 
of the Greeks, and the Esculus of Pliny. The cut-leafed Italian oak. 

This sort grows naturally in Spain and Italy ; the leaves are smooth, and deeply sinuated like 
winged leaves ; some of the sinuses are obtuse, and others end in acute points ; they have 
very short foot-stalks ; the branches are covered with a purplish bark when young ; the 
acorns are long and slender, the cups rough and a little prickly, sitting close to the branches. 
The acorns are sweet, and are frequently eaten by the poor in the south of France, who, in 
times of scarcity, grind them and make bread with the flour. Of this species of Oak the 
Romans made their Civic Crowns. " Civica iligna primo fuit, postea magis placuit ex 
Esculo Jovi sacra." plin. 

4. QUERCUS fjiGiLOPsJ foliis ovato-oblongis, glabris, serrate dentatis. Lin. Sp. 
Plant. 1414. Oak with oblong ovals, smooth, sawed, indented leaves. Quercus calyce 
echinato, glande majore. C. B. P. 420. Oak with a prickly cup and larger acorn. The large 

PRICKLY-CVPPED SPANISH OAK. 

This species grows naturally in Spain. The trunk rises nearly as high as the common Oak; 
the branches extend very wide on every side, and are covered with a grayish bark, inter- 
mixed with brown spots ; the branches are closely garnished with oblong oval leaves, about 
three inches lo,ng, and almost two broad, which are deeply sawed on their edges ; most of 
the saws or teeth turn backward, and terminate in acute points. The leaves are stiff, of a 
pale green on their upper side, and downy on their under; the acorns have very large scaly 
cups which almost cover them ; the scales are ligneous and acute-pointed, standing out a 
quarter of an inch ; some of the cups are as large as middling apples. 

5. QUERCUS (rubra) foliis obtuse sinuatis setaceo-mucronatis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1413. 
Oak with obtuse sinuated leaves, terminated by bristly points. Quercus Esculi divisura, foliis 



OF FOREST-TREES. 69 



indeed it carries it from all other timber whatsoever, for building of ships CHAP. III. 
in genera], and in particular being tough, bending well, strong, and not ^^""^^^ 
too heavy, nor easily admitting water. 

'Tis pity that the several kinds of Oak are so rarely known amongst 
us, that wherever they meet with Quercus, they take it promiscuously for 



amplioribus aculeatis. Pluk. Aim. SOQ. tab. 54. fig. 4. Oak with broad spiny leaves, which 
are divided like the Esculus. The red oak. 

This sort grows naturally in Virginia, and in other parts of North America. It arrives at a 
large size in the countries where it naturally grows ; the bark is smooth, and of a grayish 
colour, but that on the younger branches is darker ; the leaves are six inches long, and two 
and a half broad in the middle; they are obtusely sinuated, each sinus ending with a bristly 
point, of a bright green, standing upon short foot-stalks. The leaves continue their verdure 
very late in autumn, so tliat, unless hard frost comes on early, they do not fall till near 
Christmas, before which time they change their colour and become red. The acorns of this 
sort are a little longer, but not so thick as those of the common Oak. 

6. QUERCUS C PRiNus ) foliis obovatis utrinque acuminatis sinuato-serratis, denticulis 
rotundatis uniformibus. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1413. Oak rvitk oblong oval leaves, which are 
pointed on both sides, and have sawed sinuses, with uniform roundish indentures. Quercus 
castaneas foliis procera arbor Virginiana. Pluk. Aim. 309. The chestnut-leafed oak. 

This grows naturally in North America, of which there seems to be two kinds ; one grows to 
a much larger size than the other, though this may be occasioned by the soil in which they 
grow. The largest sort grows in the rich low lands, where it becomes the largest tree of any 
of the Oaks in those countries: the wood is not of a fine grain, but is very serviceable ; the 
bark is gray and scaly; the leaves are five or six inches long, and two inches and a half broad 
in the middle, indented on the edges, and have many transverse veins running from the 
midrib to the borders ; they are of a bright green, and so nearly resemble the leaves of the 
Chestnut-tree, as scarcely to be distinguished from them. The acorns of this sort are very 
large, and have short cups. The leaves of the other are not so large, nor so strongly veined, 
and the acorns are smaller and a little longer, which may arise from the soil. 

7. QUERCUS C NIGRA ) foliis cuneiformibus obsolete trilobis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1413 

Oak with wedge-shaped leaves, having three worn-out lobes. Quercus folio non seiTato in sum- 
mitate quasi triangulo. Catesb. Car. 1. p. 20. The black oak. 

This grows naturally on poor land in most parts of North America, where~ it never comes to a 
large size; the wood is of little value. The bark is of a dark brown colour; the leaves are 
very broad at the top, where they have two waved indentures, which divide them almost 
into three lobes; they diminish gradually to their base, where they are narrow; they are 
smooth, of a lucid green, and have short foot-stalks. The acorns are smaller than those of 
the common Oak, and have short cups. Of this species we have a variety or two, one par- 
ticularly with trifid leaves, and another slightly trilobate, called ihQ Black Oak of the Plains. 



70 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. our common Oak ; whereas there be many species of that goodly tree, 
"""^r^^ though we shall take notice only of the two which are frequent with us. 

These are, the Quercus Urbana, which grows more upright, and, being 
clean and lighter, is fittest for timber ; and the Robur, or Quercus 
Silvestris, (taking Robur for the general name, if at least contra-distinct 
from the rest,) which, as the name imports, is of a vast robust and in- 



8. QUERCUS (alba ) foliis oblique pinnatifidis, sinubus angulisque obtusis, Lin. Sp. 
Plant. 1414. Oak with oblique many-pointed leaves, having obtuse sinuses and angles. 
Quercus alba Virginiana. Catesb. Car. 1. p. 21. tab. 21. The white oak. 

This sort grows naturally in North America, where the wood is esteemed preferable to any of 
their other sorts for building, being much more durable. The bark of this tree is grayish, the 
leaves are of a light green, six or seven inches long, and four broad in the middle; they are 
regularly indented almo>t to the midrib. The indentures are obtuse. The leaves have 
short foot-stalks. The acorns greatly resemble those of the common Oak. 

9. QUERCUS ('PHELLos J foliis lanceolatis integerrlmis glabris. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1412. 
Oak with spear-shaped, entire smooth leaves. Quercus sive Ilex Marilandica, folio longo an- 
gusto Salicis. Catesb. Car. 1. p. 17. The willow-leaved oak. 

This species is a large timber tree, and a native of North America. The leaves are long and 
narrovk', resembling those of our common Willow. Hence its name. Of this sort there are 
several varieties, which are all included under the appellation of Willow-leaved Oaks. 

10. QUERCUS (ilex) foliis ovato-oblongis indivisis serratisque petiolatis subtus incanis, 
cortice integro. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1412. Ilex oblongo serrato folio. C. B. P. 424. Ilex 
arborea. Bauh. hist. The ilex, or evergreen oak. 

This species is generally known by the title of Ilex, or Evergreen Oak; of which there are 
several varieties, differing greatly in the size and shape of their leaves ; but they all arise 
from acorns of the same tree, as Mr. Miller observes ; nay, the lower and upper branches of 
the same tree are frequently garnished with leaves, very different in size and shape from each 
other ; those on the lower branches being much broader, rounder, and their edges indented 
and set with prickles, but those on the upper are long, narrow, and entire. The leaves of 
this tree are from three to four inches long, and one broad near the base, gradually lessening 
to a point; they are of a lucid green on their upper side, but whitish and downy on their 
under, and are entire, standing upon pretty long foot-stalks ; these remain green all the year, 
and do not fall till they are thrust off by the young leaves in the spring. The acorns are 
smaller than those of the common Oak, but of the same shape. 

11. QUERCUS (g-ramvntiaJ foliis oblongo-ovatis sinuato-spinosis sessilibus subtus to- 
mentosis, glandibus pedunculatis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1412. Evergreen Oak with oblong, oval, 
prickly, indented leaves, which are woolly on their under side, and bear acorns with foot-stalks. — 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



71 



flexible nature, of an hard black grain, bearing a smaller acorn, and CHAP. iii. 



viz. from twenty-five to forty feet, nay sometimes as many yards, whereas 
the other shooting up more erect, will be contented with fifteen. This 
kind is farther to be distinguished by its fulness of leaves, which tarnish 



Ilex foHis rotundioribus et spinosis, e luco Grarauntio. Bot. Monsp. 140. The holly- 
leaved EVERGREEN OAK. 

Linnaeus has made this tree a distinct species, but Mr. Miller seems to think it only a variety 
of the former. The leaves are prickly and shaped like the Holly. Hence its name. It 
grows naturally about Montpelier. 

12. QUERCUS C coccjFERA ) foliis ovatis indivisis, spinoso dentatis glabris. Lin. Sp. 
Plant. 1413. Oak with oval, widivided, smooth leaves, which are prickly and indented. Ilex 
aculeata, cocciglandifera. C. B. P. 425. The kermes oak. 

This kind of Oak grows plentifully in Spain, Provence, Languedoc, and along the Mediterra- 
nean coast. It is a tree of small growth, seldom arising above twelve feet. The leaves are 
oval and undivided ; they are smooth on their surface, but indented on their edges, which 
are armed with prickles like those of the Holly. It is feathered to the bottom, which gives 
it the appearance of a bushy Shrub. The acorns are smaller than those of the common Oak. 
From this tree are gathered the Kermes, with which the ancients used to die their garments of 
that beautiful colour called Coccineus, or Cocceus, being different from the Purpura of the 
Phoenicians obtained from the testaceous fish called Murex. In course of time the Murex 
became neglected, and the Kermes we are now speaking of, was introduced. This sup- 
ported its reputation till the discovery of America, when it gave place to the Cochineal, an 
insect found in the Mexican woods upon a plant named by Linnaeus, Cactus Cochinillifer. 

Both ancients and moderns seem to have had confused notions concerning the origin and nature 
of the Kermes ; some considering it as a fruit, without a just knowledge of the tree which 
produced it; others taking it for an excrescence formed by the puncture of a particular fly, 
the same as the common gall produced upon the Oak. Tournefort was of this number. — 
Count Marsigli, and Dr. Nisole, a physician of Montpelier, made experiments and obser- 
vations, with a view to further discoveries, but did not perfectly succeed. Two other phy- 
sicians at Aix in Provence, Dr. Emeric and Dr. Garidel, applied themselves about the same 
time, and with greater success, having finally discovered that the Kermes is the body of an 
insect, after having undergone several transformations. The progress of these transforma- 
tions must be considered at three different seasons. In the first stage, about the beginning 
of March, an animalcule, no larger than a grain of millet, is perceived sticking to the branches 
of the tree, where it fixes itself, and soon becomes immoveable ; at this period it grows the 
most, and swells with the sustenance that it draws in : this state of rest seems to have de- 
ceived the curious observer, it then resembling an excrescence of the bark; during this 
period of its growth, it appears to be covered with a down, extending over its whole body 
like a net, and adhering to the bark ; its figure is convex, not unlike a very small Sloe ; in 




it forth his roots more above 
be allowed a greater distance, 




4 



72 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. and become yellow at the fall, do commonly clothe it all the winter, 



the roots growing very deep and straggling. The author of Britannia 
Baconica speaks of an Oak in Lanhadron-Park in Cornwall, which bears 
constantly leaves speckled with white, and of another called the Painted 



such parts as are not quite hid by this soft garment, many bright specks are perceived of a 
golden colour, as well as stripes running across tiie body from one place to anotlier. At the 
second stage, in April, its growth is completed, when it becomes round, resembling a pea 
in shape. It has then acquired more strength, and its down is changed into dust, and seems 
to be nothing but a husk or capsule, full of a reddish juice, not unlike discoloured blood. 
Its third state is towards the end of May, a little sooner or later, according to the warmth of 
the climate. The husk appears full of small eggs, less than the seeds of a poppy. They are 
properly ranged under the belly of the insect progressively placed in the nest of down that 
• covers its body, which it withdraws in proportion to the number of eggs : after this work is 
performed, it soon dies, though it still adheres to its position, rendering a further service to 
its progeny, and shielding them from the inclemency of the weather, or the hostile attacks 
■ of an enemy. In a good season they multiply exceedingly, having from 1800 to 2000 eggs, 
which produce the same number of animalcules. When observed by the microscope in 
July or August, that which appeared as dust, are so many eggs or open capsules, as white 
as snow, out of which issues a gold coloured animalcule, of the shape of a cockroach, with 
two horns, six feet, and a forked tail. In Languedoc and Provence the poor are employed 
to gather the Kermes, the women letting their nails grow for that purpose, in order to pick 
them off with greater facility. The custom of lopping off the boughs is very injudicious, as 
by that means the next year's harvest is destroyed. Some women will gather two or three 
pounds a day; the great point being to know where they are most likely to be found in any 
quantity, and to gather them early with the morning dew, as the leaves are more pliable 
and tender at that time than after they have been dried and parched by the rays of 
the sun. Strong dews will make them fall from the trees sooner than usual. When the 
proper season passes, they fall off of themselves, and become food for birds, particularly 
pigeons. Sometimes there will be a second production, which is commonly of a less size 
with a fainter tinge. The first is generally found adhering to the bark, as well as on the 
branches and stalks ; the second is principally on the leaves, as the worms choose that part 
where the nutritious juice preserves itself the longest, is most abundant, and can be most 
easily devoured in the short time that remains of their existence, the bark being then drier and 
harder than the leaves. 

Those who buy the Kermes to send to foreign parts, spread it on linen, taking care to sprinkle 
it with vinegar, to kill the worms that are within, which produces a red dust, which in Spain 
is separated from the husk. Then -they let it dry, passing it through a searce, and make it 
up into bags. In the middle of each, its proportion of red dust is put into a little leather bag, 
and belongs to the buyer; it is then ready for transportation, being always in demand 
on the African coast. The people of Hinojos, Bonares, Villalba, and other parts of the 
kingdom of Seville, dry it on mats in the sun, stirring it about, and separating the red dust. 





OF FOREST-TREES. 



73 



learned Dr. Plot in bis Natural History of Oxfordshire ; which I only cHAP. 
mention here, that the variety may be compared by some ingenious per- ^"^^ 
son thereabouts, as well as the truth of the fatal pras-admonition of Oaks 
bearing strange leaves : besides, we may note that famous Oak of New- 
Forest in Hampshire, which puts forth 'its buds about Christmas, but 
withers again before night ; and which was ordered (by our late King 



This is the finest part, and being mixed with vinegar, goes by the name of Pastel. The same 
is done with the husks ; but these are but of half the value of the dust. The Kermes of Spain 
is preferred on the coast of Barbary, on account of its superior goodness. The people of 
Tunis mix it with that of Tetuan, for dying these scarlet caps so much used in the Levant. 
TheTunesians export every year above 150,000 dozen of these caps, which yields to the 
Dey a revenue of 150,000 hard dollars (33,750 per annum for duties ; so that, exclusive of 

the uses of the Kermes in medicine, it appears to be a very valuable branch of commerce. 

In some years it has produced 30000 dollars (5000 /.) to the inhabitanis of Xixona in 
Spain. The first who has spoken of those insects with any accuracy is Peter Quiqueran, 
Bishop of Senez, in his book de Laudibus Provincise, 1550. 

13. QUERCUS ( svBEuJ foliis ovato-oblongis indivisis serratis subtus tomentosis, cortice 
rimoso fungoso. Lin. Sp. Plant. 14-13. Oak with oblong, oval, undivided leaves, sawed and 
ivoolly on their under side, and a fungous clcjt harlc. Suber latifolium perpetuo virens.— 
C. B, P. 424. The cork-tree. 

The leaves of this useful species are entire, of an oblong oval, about two inches long, and one 
and a quarter broad, sawed on their edges, and have a little down on their under sides ; their 
foot-stalks are very short ; the leaves continue green through the winter till the middle of 
May, when they generally fall off just before the new leaves come out, so that the trees are 
very often almost bare for a short time. The acorns are very like those of the common Oak. 
The exterior bark of this tree is the cork, v/hich is taken off from the trees every eight or ten 
years: but there is an interior bark which nourishes the trees, so that the stripping off the 
outer is so far from injuring them, that it rather prolongs their life; for those whose bark are 
not taken off, seldom last longer than fifty or sixty years in health ; whereas the trees which 
are barked, every eight or ten years, will live a hundred and fifty years and more. The bark 
of the young tree is porous and good for little ; however it is necessary to take it off when the 
trees are twelve or fifteen years old, without which the bark will not be good, and after eight 
or ten years the bark will be fit to take off again: this second peeling is of little use, but at 
the third peeling the bark is in perfection, and will continue so many years, the best cork 
being taken from the old trees. The month of July is the time for stripping off this bark, 
when the sap flows plentifully ; this operation is performed with an instrument similar to that 
for disbarking Oak. Of this species there is a variety called the Narrow-leaved Cork Tree. 



14. QUERCUS CriRGiNiANA ) foliis lanceolato-ovatis integerrimis petiolatis semperviren- 
tibus. Oak nith spear-shaped, oval, entire leaves, rvhich are evergreen, and have foot-stalks.'— 
Volume I. R 



74 



A DISCOURSE- 



BOOK I. Charles the Second) to be inclosed with a pale, as I find it mentioned in 



the last edition of JNIr, Camden's Britannia : also another before this, 
which his grandfather. King James, went to visit, and caused benches to 
be placed about it, which giving it reputation, the people never left 
hacking of the boughs and bark till they killed the tree ; as I am told 
they have served that famous Oak near White-Lady's, which hid and 



Quercus sempervirens foliis oblongis non sinuatis. Banist. Evergreen Oak, wiih oblong 
leaves which are not sinuated. The live oak. 

This species grows naturally in Carolina and Virginia, where it rises to the height of forty feet. 
The grain of the wood is hard, tougii, and coarse ; the bark is of a gray colour. 'J he leaves 
are oval and spear-shaped, about three inches long, and one and a half broad, entire, and of 
a dark green, standing upon short foot-stalks. Tliey are of a thick consistence, and continue 
green all the year. The acorns are oblong and small, and are eaten by the Indians, who lay 
them up in store for the winter. They also draw from them an oil, which is very good. 

Besides these fourteen species of Oaks, enumerated by Botanists, there is another de- 
scribed under the name of the Lucombe, or Devonshire Oak. Of this new kind there is a 
particular account given in the 62d volume of the Philosophical Transactions, in a letter 
from Mr. Holwell to Mr. Campbell. The following extract contains all that we yet know 
of this most surprising species : 

" About seven years past, Mr. Lucombe sowed a parcel of acorns, saved from a tree of 
" his own growth, of the iron or wainscot species ; when they came up, he observed one 
» " amongst them that kept its leaves throughout the winter. Struck with the phienomenon, 

" he cherished and paid particular attention to it, and propagated, by grafting, some thou- 
" sands from it, which I had the pleasure of seeing, eight days ago, in high flourishing 
" beauty and verdure, notwithstanding the severity of the winter. Its growth is straight 
"and handsome as a fir, its leaves evergreen, and the wood is thought, by the best judges, 
" in hardness and strength, to exceed all other Oak. It makes but one shoot in the year, 
" viz. in May, and continues growing without interruption : whereas other Oaks shoot 
" twice, viz. in May and August ; but the peculiar and inestimable part of its character is, 
" the amazing quickness of its growth, which I imagine may be attributed (in some degree 
" at least) to its making but one shoot in the year ; for I believe all trees that shoot twice 
" are for some time at a stand before they make the second. I had the curiosity to take 
" the dimensions of the parent tree, (seven years old,) and some of the grafts ; the first 
" measured 21 feet high, and full 20 inches in the girt; a graft of four years old, 1 6 feet 
"high, and full 14 inches in the girt ; the first he grafted is six years old, and has outshot 
" its parent two feet in height. The parent tree seems to promise his acorns soon, as lie 
" blossoms, and forms his foot-stalk strong, and the cup ujon the foot-stalk with the appear- 
" ance of the acorn, which, with a little more age, will swell to perfection. Tliis Oak is 
" distinguished, in this country, by the title of the Lucombe Oak ; his shoots in general 




« 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



75 



protected our late Monarch from being discovered and taken by the rebel CHAP, 
soldiers who were sent to find him^ after his almost miraculous escape at ^^'^^ 
the battle of Worcester. In the mean time, as to this extraordinary pre- 
coseness, the like is reported of a certain Walnut-tree, as well as of the 
famous White-thorn of Glastonbury, and Black-thorns in several places. 
Some of our common Oaks bear the leaves green all winter ; but they 



" are from four to five feet every year, so that he -will, in the space of thirty or forty years, 
''outgrow in altitude and girt the common Oak at an hundred. In two or three days I will 
" forward to you, in a parcel, a branch which I cut off from the original tree, and another 
" from the graft of four years old, also a dead branch of the Iron or Wainscot Oak, just to 
" show that, from the similarity of the leaves, it is a descendant from that species, although 
" differing from it in every other particular. I send you also, by the Exeter stage, a spe- 
" cimen of the wood. I have a walking pole full five feet long, aside-shoot from one of 
"the grafts, only one year and a half old. Several Gentlemen round this neighbourhood, 
" and in the adjoining counties of Cornwall and Somerset, have planted them, and they are 
" found to flourish in all soils." I am, &c. 

Exeter, Feb. 24, 1772. 

The Oak, in the Linnaean system, is ranked in the class and order Monoecia Polyandria, 
which comprehends such plants as have male and female flowers on the same plant; the 
male flowers having numerous stamina. 

The common Oak flowers in the spring, through there is no exact time for the opening 
of the flowei-s or leaves ; these circumstances depend on the backwardness or forwardness 
of the season, or the difference of the situation or soil on which the tree stands. We often 
observe one Oak in full leaf, and at the same time another, standing near it, without any 
such appearance, owing to the coldness or poverty of the stratum on which it stands, and 
which would have been unperceived, had not the tree shown it. But notwithstanding 
this, observation and experience teach us, that these differences are very inconsiderable, 
and that the Oak which is most backward in putting forth its leaves, generally retains its 
verdure the longest in the Autumn. In general, the flowers, which are of a yellowish hue, 
begin to open about the 7th of April ; about the 18th the leaves appear, at which time the 
flowers are in full bloom ; and about the 6th of May the leaves will be quite out, and re- 
main until the autumnal frosts come on. 

Oaks are generally I'aised in vast quantities together, called Woods, where they thrive 
best, and arrive to a greater height than in hedge-rows. We seldom see a good Oak in 
a hedge-i'ow ; they generally throw out large lateral branches, and form a spreading and 
beautiful head, but the trunk is for the most part very short ; whereas in woods they draw 
one another up, and thus sociably aspire to such a height, as to be sufficient to answer any 
purposes in use. 

Various are the opinions of mankind about the raising an Oak wood. Some think the 
plants should never be removed, but remain where the acorn was first sown ; others, again, 

R 2 



76 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. are generally Pollards, and such as are sheltered in warm corners and 
•"^"■v^^ hedge-rows. To speak then j9ar/zczi/«r///, of Oaks, and ^e?zcra//?/ of all 
other trees of the same kind, by some infallible characters, notice should 
be taken of the manner of their spreading, stature, and growth, shape and 
size of the acorn, whether single or in clusters, the length or shortness 
of the stalks, roundness of the cup, breadth, narrowness, shape and in- 



believe that a wood should be raised by plants taken from a nursery. As each of these 
methods has its advantages, I shall therefore endeavour to show the best mode of proceed- 
ing in raising an Oak wood both ways, that every one may choose that which he likes 
the best. 

And, first, to raise a wood from acorns sown in the Seminary. 

Let a proper spot in the seminary be prepared against the time the seeds are ripe. The 
soil should be loamy, fresh, and in good heart ; and should be prepared by digging it Avell, 
breaking all clods, and clearing it of weeds, roots, large stones, &c. The acorns should 
be gathered from the straightest, most thriving, and beautiful trees ; and if they remain 
until they fall off of themselves, they will succeed the better. 

Having a sufficient quantity of well-ripened acorns for your purpose, proceed to prepare 
your beds in the ground that is just got ready for their reception. Mark out the beds with 
a line, four feet broad, and let there be an alley between each bed two feet wide ; rake 
the earth out of the bed into the spaces designed for the alley, until the bed be sunk about 
two inches deep ; then sow your acorns in the bed, about three inches asunder, and gently 
press them down with the spade, or, if more agreeable, they may be set in rows, the lines 
for that purpose being marked out with a sharp-pointed stick. Throw the earth, that has 
been raked into the alleys, over the acorns, and, after having dressed up the bed, and 
gently pressed it down with the back of the spade, proceed to the next bed, and so on 
until the whole be finished. This work is best performed in February, though some 
prefer the autumnal months. 

In about six weeks the plants will appear above ground ; and in these beds they may 
remain two years, without any further trouble or care, than keeping them clean from weeds, 
and now and then refreshing them with water in very dry seasons. When the trees are 
two years old, they will be of a proper size for planting out. 

Let us now see in what manner we are to prepare the ground for their reception. The 
best way is by trenching, or double digging, as deep as the soil will admit of: but as 
this is a very expensive proceedings and consequently can only be practised upon a small 
scale, I shall reconlmend another good method of preparing the ground. This is to be 
done by proper ploughing ; and, if agreeable, the year before the land is planted, it may 
bear a crop of oats, rape, or turnips. By this means the sward will be effectually de- 
stroyed. After the crop is off, let the ground be trench-ploughed, and then harrowed with 
heavy harrows to break the clods : about the end of October let it be again ploughed cross- 
ways, and harrowed as before. This is the season for planting the sets ; for the ground 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



77 



dentures of the leaf; and so of the bark, asperous or smooth, brown or cHAP. III. 
bright, &c. Though most, if not all of them, may rather be imputed to "^^""^^-^ 
the genius and nature of the soil, situation or goodness of the seed, than 
either to the pretended sex or species. And these observations may 
serve to discover many accidental varieties in other trees, without nicer 
distinctions, such as are fetched from professed botanists, who make it 
not so much their study to plant and propagate trees, as to skill in their 



by being thus cross-ploughed and well-harrowed, will be in proper order for their 
reception. The manner of planting the sets is as follows : 

First, carefully take the plants out of the seed-bed, shorten the tap-root, and take off 
part of the side-shoots, that there may be an equal proportion of strength between the stem 
and the root. If the wood is designed to be but small, ten, twenty, or thirty acres, then 
lines may be drawn, and the trees planted in rows, four feet distant from each other, and 
the trees two feet asunder in the row : each lino must have a man and a boy for planting. 
The ground being made light and pliable by cross-ploughing and harrowing, the man 
strikes his spade into the earth close to the line; he then takes it out and gives another 
stroke at right angles with it ; then the boy, having a parcel of plants under his left arm, 
takes one with his right-hand, and readily puts it into the crevice made by the spade at 
the second stroke : after this the man gently presses the mould to it with his foot, and 
thus the young Oakling is planted. He proceeds in the same manner to the next, and so 
on till all is finished. An active man will, with his boy, plant 1500 or 2000 in a day ; and 
while they are planting, others should be employed in taking up fresh sets from the seed- 
bed, sorting them and preparing their roots. In short, a sufficient number of hands 
should be set to every part of this work, that the whole may be carried on with despatch 
and regularity ; for the ground cannot be too soon furnished with its plants, after it is in 
readiness to receive them ; neither can the plants be put too eai-ly into the ground, after 
they are taken up from the seminary. Those plants which are nearly of the same size 
should be made to occupy a large quarter together, and the weakest should be left in the 
seminary a year longer to gain strength. 

The trees, either for small or large plantations, being in the ground, the first care should 
be to fence them well from cattle, and -even, if possible, from rabbits and hares. The next 
should be, to keep them clear from weeds, that they may not be incommoded in their 
growth. In all lands, weeds must be carefully watched, and destroyed at their first appear- 
ance. In small plantations hoeing may do ; but where the plantations are large and noble, 
a double-shelving plough should be provided ; and when the weeds are got two or three 
inches high, this must be drawn exactly down the middle of each row by horses with their 
mouths muzzled, somebody leading the foremost horse ; this plough will effectually thi'ow 
a ridge each way, so that the edge of it will be almost contiguous to the plants on both 
sides. This being done, the whole surface of the ground will be changed, and the weeds 
all buried, except a few about the stems of the plants, which a man following the plough 
should cut or pluck up. In this manner the ground may lie until a fresh crop of weeds 
present themselves ; when these ai'e about three inches high, a common plough should be 



78 



A DISCOURSE 



HOOK I, medicinal virtues, and other uses ,• always excepting our learned coun- 
"^^f^^ tryman Mr. llay, whose incomparable work omits nothing useful or de- 
sirable on this subject, wanting only the accomplishments of well- designed 
sculps. 

3. I shall not need to repeat what has already been said, chap. ii. con- 



provided to go up one side of the row and down the other, to plough the ridges made by 
the double-shelving plough, into their former places ; men following with hoes to destroy such 
weeds as are near the stems of the trees. Thus ■will the whole scene be changed again ; 
the ground will appear as new tilled ; and in this condition it may remain until the weeds 
call for the double-shelving plough a second time, which must also be followed alternately 
with the common plough, as occasion may require. By this means the ground will not only 
be kept clean of weeds, but the earth, by constant stirring, will be more replete with nou- 
rishing juices, the gentle showers will produce their good effects, the sun will have his 
influence, and all the powers of vegetation will combine to nourish and set forward the 
infant Oak. This work must be repeated every year, until the Oaks are of a height suffi- 
cient to destroy the weeds, which may be, perhaps, in three or four years, according to 
the goodness of the ground in which they are planted. 

When it is thought advisable to raise an Oak wood from the acorn, let the following 
directions be observed : 

Having the ground prepared, as before directed, for the reception of the young Oak 
plants, and having a sufficient quantity of acorns, all gathered from the most vigorous, 
healthy, and thriving trees, proceed to their setting in the following manner ; In the 
months of February and March, let lines be drawn across the ground for the rows, at the 
distance of four feet from each other ; but if this be thought too great an interval, the 
rows may be made at three feet, in which case the acorns must be put down at a greater 
distance from each other. Then having sticks properly rounded to make the holes, plant 
the acorns by the side of the lines, at the distance of ten inches asunder : let them be put 
down about two inches below the surface, and see that the earth be properly closed by 
the planting- stick, to prevent the mice, or crows, from injuring the seed. In some places 
it is customary to sow the acorns after the plough ; but where the ground happens to be 
stiff, great care should be taken not to cover the seed with too thick a furrow. As in this 
manner of sowing, the plants will come up veiy irregular, the mode of thinning must be 
left to the discretion of the planter. 

The first year after planting the acorns, the weeds must be kept down by hoeing and 
hand-weeding ; and this must be done early in the spring before the weeds get so strong 
as to hide the tender plants, which would occasion many of them to be destroyed in clean- 
ing. It is also the cheapest, as well as the neatest husbandry, to take weeds down before 
they grow too large; for though the ground may require an additional hoeing in the 
spring, yet the weeds being hoed down when young, a man may hoe over a great quan- 
tity of ground in a day : weeds cut in their tender state immediately die ; whereas when 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



79 



cerning the raising of this tree from the acorn : it will also endure the cHAP. 111. 
laying, but never to advantage of bulk or stature. It is in the mean ^--"^v""^ 
time the propagation of these large spreading Oaks, which is especially- 
recommended for the excellency of the timber, and that his Majesty's 
forests were well and plentifully stored with them, because they require 
room and space to amplify and expand themselves, and should therefore 



they are suffered to grow old and strong, they frequently grow again, es . cially if rain 
falls soon after, perfect their seed in a short time, and thereby poison the soil of the whole 
plantation. 

The second year of their growth, in extensive plantations, the double-shelving and com- 
mon plough may be made use of, as before directed, to cultivate and keep the ground 
clean ; and this culture should be attended to until the plants are become so large that it 
will not be in the power of the weeds to injure them. As plantations of Oaks from the 
acorn are rather precarious, it will be right to form a small seminary in the same field, to 
repair the intervals that may have miscarried. And here it may be necessary to observe, 
that this seminary should be taken from the l)est part of the field, and in the warmest 
situation, in order that the young plants may have good roots, without which they would 
make but an indifferent progress when planted out. 

Having thus given directions for the raising of woods, both by young sets and from acorns, 
I now proceed to their future management, which must be the same in both. And first, 
the rows being four feet asunder, and the plants two feet distant in the rows, they may 
stand in this manner for twelve or fourteen years, when every second plant may be taken 
out and sold for hoops or small poles. Now, though I say in twelve or fourteen years the 
plants will be of use for these purposes, yet this is only a general rule, as the different 
goodness of the land will make a great variation in the growth of the plants ; and conse- 
quently, if the trees take to growing well, they will want thinning sooner. This business 
therefore, should be left to the discretion of the person intrusted with the care of the 
plantation. 

After every second plant is taken away, let the roots be grubbed up, not only because 
they will pay for their grubbing as fire-Avood, but that there may be more room given for 
the standing plants freely to extend their roots. 

The plants being now four feet asunder each way, they will require no more thinning 
for seven or eight years, when the healthiest and best thriving trees must be marked to 
stand for timber, and the others cut down for poles, and their roots left to produce future 
under-wood. 

In this manner tlie rows filled with plants from the nursery must be managed, in which 
case we can speak with precision with regard to thinning. The same husbandry must be 
applied to the rows under cultivation from the seed ; but the planter in this last method 
must be left to form his own ideas in respect to thinning, as no human knowledge can de- 
termine, before hand, how thick the seedling plants will appear in the rows. In rocky 
and mountainous soils, the plants or acorns must be put down irregularly by the spade, 
and the planter must be directed in this operation by the particular circumstances of the 
soil and situation. 



80 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. be planted at more remote distances, and free from all incumbrances : 
and this upon consideration, how slowly a full grown Oak mounts up- 
wards, and how speedily it spreads and dilates itself to all quarters, by 
dressing and due culture, so as above forty years advance is to be gained 
by this only industry : and if thus his Majesty's forests and chases were 
stored, viz, with this spreading tree at handsome intervals, by which 



In all cases of planting, shelter and warmth are particularly required. Where the plan- 
tations are flat, it may be advisable to skirt the wood with Scotch Fir, which, being a 
hardy and quick-growing tree, is well calculated for this purpose. 

Birch is sometimes put between the rows of Oaks, and in mountainous situations this is 
a good method ; others recommend the Fir for this purpose, but it is apt to vegetate too 
fast and over-top the Oaks. 

I shall now consider our plantation as far advanced, in which case a particular attention 
should be paid to the trees left for timber. These should stand from twenty to thirty feet 
distant from each other, which will not be too near where the trees thrive well ; in which 
case their heads will spread, so as to meet in about thirty or thirty-five years ; nor will 
this distance be so great as to impede the upright growth of the trees. This distance is 
recommended, that the trees may enjoy the whole benefit of the soil ; therefore, after one 
crop of the under-wood, or at the most two crops are cut, I would advise the stubbing up 
the stools, that the ground may be entirely clear for the advantage of the growing timber, 
which is what should be principally regarded ; but, in general, most people attend more to 
the immediate profit of the under-wood, than the future good of the timber, and freg[uently 
by so doing spoil both ; for if the under-wood be left after the trees have spread so far as 
that their heads meet, the under-wood will not be of much value ; and yet, by their stools 
being left, they will draw a great share of nourishment from the timber-trees, and retard 
them in their growth. 

Such Gentlemen as are desirous of raising Oaks to plant out for standards, either in 
parks or in fields, for clumps, or for avenues, must train them in the following manner : 
Having raised them in the seed-bed, as before directed, let them remain there two years ; 
after which a piece of good ground must be prepared for their reception, where they must 
grow until they are of a size sufficient to be planted out where they are designed to re- 
main. This ground must be trenched, or double dug; then taking the plants out of the 
seed-bed, as before directed, let a man and boy plant them upon this new double- 
dug ground, at the distance of two feet row from row, and a foot and a half asunder in 
the rows. Every winter, until the plants are taken out of this nursery, the ground 
should be dug between the rows ; and this is what gardeners call itirning-iii. They will 
require no other pruning than taking off any imsightly side-shoot ; or where the tree is in- 
clined to be forked, taking off the weakest branch. Nor is any other precaution necessary 
until the time for their being planted out to continue, which must be done as follows : 

First, carefully take the trees out of the nursery, and then prune the roots, which must 
be done by holding the plant in your left-hand, that the stroke of the knife in the right 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



81 



grazing might be improved for the feeding of deer and cattle under them CHAP, 
(for such was the old Saltus) benignly visited with the gleams of the sun, 
and adorned with the distant landscapes appearing through the glades and 
frequent valleys, nothing could be more ravishing-. We might also sprinkle 
fruit-trees amongst them for cider, and many singular uses, and should 
find such goodly plantations the boast of our rangers, and forests infinitely 



may so cut the bottom of the root that the wound may be downwards ; next, take off all 
bruised and broken parts of the I'oot ; and having holes prepared, in the figure of a circle, 
three feet in diameter and a foot and a half deep, (the sward being worked and chopped 
small in the bottom of the holes, and some mould laid to cover it,) plant the trees in such a 
manner that the top of the roots may be nearly level with the surface of the ground. Let 
the finest of the mould which was under the turf, be preserved to lap the root in ; and 
after the earth has regularly filled the hole, let it be pressed down with the foot, to settle it 
properly to the root A little litter should be laid over the root, to prevent the wind and 
sun from drying the mould, and thereby retarding the growth of the tree, especially if the 
planting be deferred till the spring. The plants which are of a larger size, should be pro- 
perly staked to secure them from the violence of the winds ; or, if they are planted where 
cattle or deer can come, they should be properly hurdled. After this, they will require no 
further care. 

Oaks will not aspire to such height, or fineness of trunk, when planted in these places, 
as in woods ; but they will form most beautiful heads, and their shade will be extensive 
and large : 

— — — ' Behold yon Oak, 

How stern he frowns, and with his broad brown arms 

Chills the pale plain beneath him. mason. 

The Oak will grow and thrive upon almost any soil, provided the trees be properly 
planted, though we cannot suppose that their growth will be equal in all places. A rich 
deep loamy earth is what Oaks most delight in, though they will grow exceedingly well 
in clays of all kinds and on sandy soils, in which last the finest grained timber is produced. 
Many fine trees of this texture may now be seen growing upon Nottingham forest, parti- 
cularly at Welbeck. 

Having thus given a minute detail of the different methods of raising an Oak wood from 
the Acorn, the Seed-bed, and the Nursery, we are now arrived at a very important and in- 
teresting question : which makes the best Timber? Mr. Evelyn decides for sowing: and 
if a careful observer will look into the woods that have been sown, and at the same time 
examine such as have been planted, he will not hesitate a moment to declare in favour of 
the excellent Author of this Treatise. The extensive plantations that have been carried 
on for these many years past, have been made more with a view to Shade, Shelter, and 
Ornament, than to the propagation of Timber ; and, in order to obtain these ends in the 
most expeditious manner, the owners have in general followed a mistaken notion, and 
Volume I. S 



82 



A DISCOURSE 



preferable to any thing we have yet beheld, rude and neglected as they 
are. I say, when his Majesty shall proceed, as he hath designed, to 
animate this laudable pride into fashion, forests and woods, as well as 
fields and inclosures, will present us with another face than now they 
do. And here I cannot but applaud the worthy industry of old Sir Har- 
botle Grimstone, who, I am told, from a very small Nursery of Acorns, 



planted their trees too old ; so that many of these woods, wlien they come to be felled, 
will greatly disappoint the expectations of the purchasers. Besides, such advanced trees 
when drawn from the nursery, unless planted in a good soil, will never come to good timber. 
On the contrary, rocky and poor soils may be made to produce excellent timber by judi- 
ciously sowing the seeds, and carefully defending the young plants from the browsing of 
sheep and cattle, or the cropping of hares and rabbits. By this practice, the plants are 
attached to their native earth, and are strangers to the inconveniences that trees taken from 
a nursery are exposed to. 

In Scotland, and in some of the northern counties of this kingdom, the practice of sowing 
their waste lands with acorns, chestnuts, beech-mast, fir-seeds, ash-keys, &c. is much re- 
commended, and there is not the least doubt, but that postei'ity will enjoy the benefits 
arising from this judicious practice. The expense attending the sowing an acre of waste 
land with various seeds of forest-trees, is trifling when compared with that of planting ; 
and if all other things were equal, that alone would be decisive. In the neighbourhood 
of coal and lead mines, and iron forges, such woods will become highly profitable at an 
early period ; and considering the great demand that is constantly made from such places 
for all kinds of wood, it is matter of surprise that the cheap method of raising woods from 
seeds and seedling plants has been so long neglected. 

In some parts of Scotland, the seedling firs are put into the earth without any sort of pre- 
paration. A hole being bored through the heath with an iron instrument, made in the form 
of a large gimblet, the seedling is immediately introduced. By this management the soil 
is prevented from opening in hot weather to the prejudice of the young plant. Instead of 
being pointed, the instrument is flattened at the extremity, like a chisel, with a nick in it, 
by which the plant is drawn down to the bottom of the hole made to receive it. But of 
this I shall probably have occasion to speak more fully on the chapter upon Firs. 

I have already remarked, that under every circumstance of sowing or planting, espe- 
cially the former, the utmost care must be taken to fence off" the young plants, lest cattle and 
sheep should break in and render the pains of the planter abortive : 

Texendae sepes etiam, et pecus omne tenendum est : 
PiKcipue duin frons fenera imprudensque laborum : 
Cui super indignas hyemes, solemque potentem, 
Sylvestres uri assidue capreseque sequaces 
Illidunt: Pascuntur oves, avidiequc juvencae. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



83 



which he sowed in the neglected corners of his ground, did draw forth CHAP. ill. 
such numbers of Oaks of competent growth, as being planted about his '^"^'^'''^^ 
fields in even and uniform rows, about one hundred feet from the hedges, 
bushed and well watered till they had sufficiently fixed themselves, did 
wonderfully improve both the beauty and the value of his demesnes. — 
But I proceed. 



Fiigora nec tantum cana concreta pruina 

Aut gravis incumbens scopulis artntibus aestas ; 

Quantum illi iiocuere greges, durique venenuni 

Dentis, et admorso signata in stirpe cicatrix. viRG. 

Under some particulai* circumstances, it may be proper to cover rocky and exposed situ- 
ations with Oaks raised in a nursery. In such cases we should always plant from the 
seed-bed : and in order to bring up the young Oaks, where the aspect and situation hap- 
pen to be unfriendly, it should be recommended to skirt the wood, to a sufficient thickness, 
with Scotch Firs, mixing some of them in the body of the wood. In this manner an ex- 
posed situation may be made to produce excellent timber ; and when the trees are grown 
to a size sufficient for their own protection, the first in the centre, which I call the imrses, 
should be removed, otherwise they will injure the young Oaks : 

. Foster'd thus, 

Tiie cradled hero gains from ftmale care 
His future vigour; but, that vigour felt. 
He springs indignant from his nurse's arms. 

He nods the plumy crest, he shakes the spear, ^ 
And is that awful thing which Heav'n ordain'd 

The scourge of tyrants, and his country's pride. mason. 

On the judicious thinning and cleaning a young wood, depends much of the planter's 
success and profit ; on which account all gentlemen who engage deeply in planting will 
find it highly necessary to appoint proper persons, whose office shall be solely confined to 
the superintendence of the woods. From a neglect in this particular, the hopes of half a 
century may be thrown away in a pei-iod of a few years. 

The method of seedling-planting comes nearest to the nature of sowing, and is generally 
connected with it in all large undertakings ; but I must refer the reader to the notes upon 
the different forest-trees in the course of this work, where the judicious practice of planting 
from the seed-bed is occasionally recommended. 

It often happens, from natural or accidental causes, that planted Oaks grow stunted and 
crooked ; in such cases they should be cut down at a proper season. In consequence of 
this judicious practice, a clean leading shoot will be obtained that will soon overtake the 
cotemporary trees that have not undergone the same operation. But it must be consi- 
dered that no Oak should be thus headed down till two or three years after planting, or 

S 2 



84 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. 4. Both these kinds should be taken up very young, and transplanted 
about October ; some yet, for these hardy and late springing trees, defer 
it tiU the winter be well over, but the earth had need be moist ; and 
though they will grow tolerably in moist grounds, yet do they generally 
affect the sound, black, deep, and fast mould, rather warm than over wet 
and cold, and a little rising, for this produces the firmest timber ; though 



until it has completely rooted itself in the ground. Many other kinds of Forest-trees, 
under similar circumstances, may be treated in the same manner ; but we must except all 
the Pine tribe from this operation, as in them the loss of the leading shoot is the certain 
loss of the tree. 

An opinion generally prevails, that good lands should always be employed in meadow, 
pasture, and tillage, and that none but the barren and rocky soils should be planted. — 
Such an idea is by no means founded on truth, as it may be demonstrated, that good land 
lying remote from a town, and near a navigable river or canal, will yield a better profit 
when planted, than if it had been employed in pasturage and tillage. There is, I confess, 
some difference, when we consider that in the one case, the profits are annual and small, 
and in the other distant and large, which circumstance must materially affect the inclina- 
tions of some people; but a true Patriot, and all Planters are Patriots, will forego the 
present profits, and rest satisfied with having handed down to posterity a blessing of 
inestimable value. Full of this idea, the Patriot will set apart some good land for the 
generous purpose of raising timber, which at some future period may be employed in 
building ships for the advancement of our commerce, and the security of our island : 

Let India boast her plants, nor envy we 
The weeping amber and the balmy tree. 
While by our Oaks the precious loads are borne. 

And realms commanded which those trees adorn. pope. 

As a farther encouragement to the generous planter, it may be remarked, tliat the best 
lands always produce the cleanest, quickest, and best growing timber ; at the same time, 
the underwood springs up with an amazing and profitable luxuriancy. To such men the 
soil is always grateful. 

. When a large tract of land is designed for wood, especially if it be of an indifferent 
quality, it may be advantageous to attend to the following method which was recom- 
mended to me by a Gentleman long conversant in the practice of raising woods. But it 
must be observed, that this method can only be complied with in places where the plough 
can be introduced. 

Plough the whole in October or November, and in the following spring plough and 
harrow so as effectually to destroy the turf. The land being reduced to an excellent tilth, 
sow it with turnip-seed about the third week in June, and when the plants are sufficiently 
advanced let them be carefully hoed, which operation must be repeated at a proper inter- 



I 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



85 



my Lord Bacon prefers that which grows in the moister grounds for CHAP. III. 
ship-timber, as the most tough, and less subject to rift. But let us hear '--^"'^/''^^ 
Pliny : " This is a general rule," saith he, " what trees soever they be 
" which grow tolerably, either on hills or valleys, arise to greater stature^ 
" and spread more amply in the lower ground ; but the timber is far 
" better, and of a finer grain, which grows upon the mountains, ex- 



val. After this, the crop, if possible, should be eaten upon the ground with sheep. Upon 
the same land another crop of turnips should be taken the succeeding year : after which 
the ground will be in clean and excellent condition for receiving the acorns and seeds of 
Forest-trees. These should be committed to the earth in the following manner : 

Early in the Spring, upon one ploughing, sow one bushel, or three pecks, of oats, and 
at the same time sow the necessary quantity of acorns, chestnuts, ash-keys, beech-mast, 
fir-seeds, &c. After this, let the whole be harrowed to cover the seeds. As in all ex- 
tensive tracts there are a variety of soils, it will be most judicious to sow the different 
seeds upon such parts as are most suitable to their respective natures. Besides, some trees, 
though they delight in the same sort of soil, do not grow kindly together : so that the 
planter will do well to consider this, and only mix such together as are found, by general 
practice, to grow friendly to each other. And here I beg leave to remark, that where the 
turnips are cultivated in drills, and well horse-hoed, the land will be in better condition for 
receiving the acorns, &c. than if the broad-cast method had been pursued. 

In this manner an extensive wood may be raised at a small expense, as the turnip and 
oat crops will pay the expense of ploughing, seed, rent, and incidental charges. The 
tender plants being nourished, warmed, and protected by the oat stalks, will make vigorous 
shoots, and, having no weeds to struggle with the first summer, will push forward 
with amazing vigoui". As the land sown in this manner will be fully stocked with plants, 
the feet of the reapers employed in cutting down the oats will not materially affect the 
seedling Oaks, which before the autumn will have made a considerable progress. The 
Firs, from the slowness of their growth, will be secure from injury, and the Ashes cannot 
be hurt, as they do not vegetate till the second year. In some parts of Norfolk, where 
the land, in general, is of a sandy nature, with a bed of clay or marl underneath, it is re- 
commended by the author of the above instructions, to raise an Oak wood by sowing the 
acorns with a crop of spring rye : and I am well informed of the success of that method in 
one instance. A wood raised in this natural manner will not only make the best timber 
for the uses of the carpenter and ship-builder, but will arrive at maturitj'^ many years 
sooner than one of the same age raised from plants drawn from the nursery. The tap- 
root of all trees corresponds with the leading shoot ; so that when it is cut off, as in 
planting from the nursery, the tree is weakened in its leading shoot, but puts out more 
vigorously in its lateral ones. An attention to the correspondence between the branches 
and roots solves many of the phsenoraena in pruning and planting. 

A wood raised in this cheap and easy manner may be thinned at proper seasons, leaving 
the most thriving trees to stand for timber, or (which is the most profitable way) it 



86 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. '< cepting only Apple and Pear-trees." And in cap. xxxix. lib. xvi. 

" The timber of those trees which grow in moist and shady places is not 
'* so good as that which comes from a more exposed situation, nor is 
" it so close, substantial, and durable :" Upon which he much prefers 
the timber growing in Tuscany, before that towards the Venetian side, 
and upper part of the Gulph. And that timber, so grown, was in 



may be converted into a spring wood, in wliich case no timber should be left standing, as 
the copse wood will be retarded in its growth by the over-dripping of the large trees. — 
According to the goodness of the land, the spring wood will arrive sooner or later at ma- 
turity ; and as wood of that kind is a regular and constant income, after a term of years, it 
becomes a very advantageous method of applying land in all countries where fuel is 
dear. 

As much depends upon keeping the seedling plants clear from weeds, it might be an 
improvement to the plan, if, after the oats are harrowed in, drills were drawn with a light 
plough all over the field at a distance of four feet from each other. Into these let the 
acorns, chestnuts, and other seeds be sown, after which they may be covered with rakes ; 
the thickness, however, of the covering, and the deepness of the drills, must be regulated 
by the nature of the soil and the seed sown. A wood raised in this manner may be cleaned 
at a small expense by horse-hoeing the intervals, and hand-hoeing and thinning the rows 
at proper seasons ; for which necessaiy operations, consult the directions already given for 
cleaning Oaks drawn from the nursery, and planted in rows. In Livonia, Courland, and 
Poland, where the Pine and Fir grow in abundance, it is the practice to prepare the land 
as for grain, and then sow it with Pine and Fir seeds in the month of April. The whole 
is afterwards left to Nature. And thus being sown thick, the strong plants smother the 
weaker, and the wood advances apace. In consequence of the close standing of the trees, 
the lower branches drop off soon, which clears the timber of knots. In these countries it 
is esteemed an injudicious practice to thin the woods till the most vigorous trees are 
arrived at the height of twenty feet, and then the low and smothered plants are removed. 
When the wood is arrived at maturity, the whole is cut down, and every fifty or sixty 
yards a Pine, or Fir, is left standing to stock the land with seeds, the ground being care- 
fully harrowed at the time the cones of the mother trees begin to open. Others again 
judge it better to leave a deep skirting of trees round the place cleared of wood with the 
same precaution of harrowing the gi'ound at the time when Nature points out her sowing 
season. 

The celebrated Marquis of Turbilly, speaking of woods raised from seeds, says, " woods 
thus raised out-grow, even in a few years, those that have been planted at the same time, 
and cultivated by digging and dressing at a great expense. No trees are taller, straighter, 
and of a finer bark." 

In this place I judge it necessary to remark, that the above directions are drawn from 
the most approved authors, as well as the private information of gentlemen well con- 



OF FOREST-TREES. 87 

great esteem long before Pliny, we have the spear of Agamemnon cHAP. III. 
formed from a tree so exposed ; and Didymus gives the reason, " For ''■^V^^ 
that being continually weather-beaten, they become hardier and tougher." 
Otherwise, that which is wind-shaken never comes to good ; and there- 
fore when we speak of the climate, it is to be understood of valleys rather 



versant in the practice of planting ; but as all countries differ in a variety of circumstances, 
I wish to be understood as only laying down rules subject to a necessary variation. There 
is nothing so dangerous in planting as obeying too servilely the directions given in books : 
something must be left to the planter himself. 

I have a particular satisfaction in laying before my readers the following letter, written 
by Mr. Speechly, gardener to the Duke of Portland, describing the method of forming 
plantations upon his Grace's estate in the county of Nottingham. It is a valuable piece 
of practical information, and merits our utmost attention. 

■ — - — "Few Noblemen plant more than his Grace the Duke of Port- 

" land : and I think I may say, without vanity, none with greater success. But as no man 
" should think of planting in the very extensive manner that we do, before he is provided 
" with well-stocked nurseries, it may not be amiss, before I proceed further, to give a short 
"sketch of that necessary business, as also to inform you of the soil and situation of our 
" seat of planting. The greatest part of our plantations is on that soil, which, in Not- 
" tinghamshire, is generally distinguished by the name of Forest-land. It is a conti- 
" nuation of hills and dales ; in some places the hills are very steep and high ; but in ge- 
" neral the ascents are gentle and easy. 

" The soil is composed of a mixture of sand and gravel ; the hills abound most with 
" the latter, and the valleys with the former, as the smaller particles are by the wind and 
" rains brought, from time to time, from the high grounds to the lower. It is on the hilly 
" grounds we make our plantations, which in time will make the valleys of much greater 
" value, on account of the shelter they will afford. 

" After his Grace has fixed on such a part of this Forest-land as he intends to have 
" planted, some well-situated valley is chosen, (as near the centre of the intended planta- 
" tions as may be,) for the purpose of a nursery : if this valley is surrounded with hills 
" on all sides but the south, so much the better. After having allotted a piece of ground, 
" consisting of as many acres as is convenient for the purpose, it is fenced about in such a 
"manner as to keep out all obnoxious animals. At both ends of the nursery are large 
" boarded gates, as also a walk down the middle, wide enough to admit carriages to go 
" through, which we find exceedingly convenient when we remove the young trees from 
" thence to the plantations. After the fence is completed, the whole is trenched (except 
" the walk in the middle) about twenty inches deep, which work may be done for about 
" three pounds ten shillings, or four pounds, per acre, according as the land is more or 
" less gravelly ; this work is best done in the spring, when the planting season is over. If 



88 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK r. than hills, and in calm places, than exposed, because they shoot straight 
'^'y^^ and upright. The result of all is, that upon occasion of special timber, 
there is a very great and considerable difference ; so as some oaken 
timber proves manifestly weaker, more spungy, and sooner decaying than 
other. The like may be affirmed of Ash, and other kinds ; and gene 
rally speaking, the close-grained is the stoutest and most permanent : but 



" after the trencliing, two or three chaldrons of lime be laid on an acre, the land will 
" produce an excellent crop either of cabbages or turnips, which being eaten off by sheep 
" in the autumn, will make the land in fine order for all sorts of tree-seeds : but as the 
" Oak is the sort of tree we cultivate in general, I shall confine myself particularly to our 
" present method of raising and managing that most valuable species. In the autumn 
" after the cabbages or turnips are eaten off, the ground will require nothing more than a 
" common digging. So soon as the acorns fall, after being provided with a good quantity, 
" we sow them in the following manner : Draw drills with a hoe in the same manner as is 
" practised for peas, and sow the acorns therein so thick as nearly to touch each other, 
" and leave the space of one foot between row and row, and between every fifth row 
" leave the space of two feet for the alleys. While the acorns ai'e in the ground, great 
" care must be taken to keep them from vermine, which would very often make great 
"havock amongst the beds, if not timely prevented. Let this caution serve for most 
" other sorts of tree-seeds. 

" After the acorns are come up, the beds will require only to be kept clean from weeds 
" till they want thinning ; and as the plants frequently grow more in one wet season, 
" where the soil is tolerably good, than in two dry ones, where the soil is but indifferent, 
" the time for doing this is best ascertained by observing when the tops of the rows meet. 
" Our rule is to thin them then, which we do by taking away one row on each side the 
" middlemost, which leaves the remaining three rows the same distance apart as the 
" breadth of the alleys. In taking up these rows we ought to be anxiously careful neither 
" to injure the roots of the plants removed, nor of those left on each side. The rest of [the 
" young Oaks being now left in rows at two feet apart, we let them again stand till their 
" tops meet ; then take up every other row, and leave the rest in rows four feet asunder, 
" till they arrive to the height of about five feet, which is full as large a size as we ever 
" wish to plant. In taking up the two last sizes, our method is to dig a trench at the end 
" of each row full two feet deep, then undermine the plants, and let them fall into the 
" trench with their roots entire. 

" And here let me observe, that much, very much, of their future success depends on 
" this point of their being well taken up. I declare that I should form greater hopes from 
" one hundred plants well taken up and planted, than from ten times that number taken 
" up and planted in a random manner ; besides, the loss of the plants makes the worst 
" method the most expensive. 

" But before I leave this account of our method of raising Oaks, I shall just beg leave 
" to observe, that we are not very particular in the choice of acorns ; in my own opinion 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



89 



of this let the industrious consult that whole tenth chapter in the second cHAP. III. 
book of Vetruvius, where he expressly treats of this argument, de Ahiete 
supernate et infernate, cum Appennini descriptione : where we note con- 
cerning Oak, that it neither prospers in very hot nor excessive cold, 
countries ; therefore there is little good of it to be found in Africa, or, 
indeed, in the loAver and most southern parts of Italy, (but the Venetians 



it matters not from what sort of tree the acorns are gathered, provided they are good ; 
" for although there seems to be a variety of the English Oak, in respect to the form 
"of the leaf and fruit, also their coming into leaf at different seasons, with some other 
"marks of distinction, yet I am of opinion that they will all make good timber-trees, 
" if properly managed : it is natural to suppose that a tree will grow low and spreading 
" in a hedge-row ; on the contrary, it is very improbable that many should grow so in a 
" thick wood, where, in general, they draw one.another up straight and tall. And I have 
"observed that the same distinctions hold good amongst our large timber-trees in the 
" woods, as in the low-spreading Oaks in the hedge-rows. 

" Though I have not as yet taken notice of any other sort of tree but the Oak, yet we 
" have a great regard for, and raise great quantities of Beech, Larch, Spanish Chestnut, 
" Weymouth Pine, and all sorts of Firs, the Scotch excepted, as well as many other kinds, 
" by way of thickening the plantations while young ; amongst which the Birch has hitherto 
"been in the greatest estimation, it being a quick growing tree, and taking the lead 
" of most other sorts on our poor forest-hills ; and as we have an inexhaustible spring 
"of them in the woods, where they rise of themselves in abundance from seed, we 
" at all times plant them plentifully of different sizes. As to the Elm and Ash, we plant 
"but few of them on the forest, though we raise great quantities of both, but particularly 
"the Ash, which being an useful wood (but a bad neighbour amongst the Oaks) 
" we plant in places apart by itself. I shall dismiss this subject concerning the manage- 
"mentof our nurseries, after saying a word or two relating to pruning: We go over the 
" whole of the young trees in the nursery every winter ; but in this we do little more than 
" shorten the strong side-shoots, and take off one of all such as have double leads. 

" Having thus pointed out the mode of forming and managing our nurseries, I shall now 
"pi-oceed to the plantations. The size of the plantations, at first beginning, must 
" be in proportion to the stock of young trees in the nursery ; for to undertake to plant 
"more ground than we have young trees to go through with for thick plantations, would 
"turn to poor account on our forest- hills. We always plant thick, as well as sow 
"plentifully at the same time, provided it be a season in which acorns can be had ; so that 
" all our plantations answer in a few years as nurseries to succeeding plantations. 

" As to the form of the plantations, they are very irregular : We sometimes follow a chain 
"of hills to a very great distance; so that what we plant in one season, which perhaps 
" is sixty, eighty, and sometimes an hundred acres, is no more than a part of one great 
" design. 

" If the ground intended to be planted has not already been got into order for that 
" purpose, it should be fenced about at least a twelvemonth before it is wanted to plant 
Volume I. T 



90 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. liave excellent timber,) nor in Denmark or Norway, comparable to ours, 
"-^^^^^ it chiefly affecting a temperate climate ; and where it grows naturally 
in abundance, it is a promising mark of it. If I were to make choice 
of the place, or the tree, it should be such as grow in the best cow- 
pasture, or up-land meadow, where the mould is rich and sweet, (Suffolk 
affords an admirable instance,) and in such places you may also transplant 



" on, and immediately got into order for a crop of turnips ; two chaldrons of lime being 
" laid on an acre will be of great service, as it will not only be a means of procuring 
" a better crop of turnips, but will bind the land afterwards, and make it fall heavy, which 
*'isof great use when it comes to be planted, as some of the forest-land is so exceedingly 
" light as to be liable to be blown from the roots of the young trees after planting ; 
" Therefore we find it to be in the best order for planting about two years after it has been 
''ploughed up from pasture, before the turf is too far gone to a state of decay. It will 
" be necessary to have a part of the turnips eaten off soon in the autumn, in order to get 
" the ground into readiness for early planting ; for we find the forward planting generally 
" succeeds the best. 

" After the turnips are eaten off, we plough the ground with a double-furrow trenching 
" plough made for that purpose, which, drawn by six horses, turns up the ground com- 
" pletely to the depth of twelve or thirteen inches : This deep ploughing is of great 
"service to the plants at the first, and also saves a great deal of trouble in making 
"the holes. After the ploughing is finished, we divide the ground into quarters for 
" the planting by ridings. It will be a difficult matter to describe the laying out the 

ground for this purpose, especially where there is such a variety of land as we have 
*'on the forest; much depends on the taste of the person employed in this office. — 
" Between the hills, towards the outsides of the plantations, we frequently leave the 
" ridings from sixty to an hundred yai'ds in breadth, and contract them towards the 
" middle of the woods, to the breadth of ten or twelve y.mls; and on the tops of the 
" hills where there are plains, we frequently leave lawns of an acre or two, which 
" makes a pleasing variety. 

"In some of them we plant the Cedar of Libanus at good distances, so as to form 
" irregular groves ; and this sort of tree seems to thrive to admiration on the forest- 
" land. On the outsides of the woods, next to the ridings, we plant Evergreens, 
" as Hollies, Laurels, Yews, Junipers, &c. and these we dispose of in patches, some- 
" times the several sorts entire, at other times we intermix them for variety ; but not 
" so as to make a regular screen or edging. Our design in the distribution of these 
" plants, is to make the outsides of the woods appear as if scalloped with Ever- 
" greens intermixed sometimes with rare trees, as the Liriodendron Ttdipifera, the Virginian 
" Tulip-tree, &c. 

" After the ground is laid out into quarters for planting, we assign certain parts to Beech, 
" Lai'ch, Spanish Chestnuts, &c. These we plant in irregular patches here and there, 
" throughout the plantations, which, when the trees are in leaf, has the most pleasing 
" effect, on account of the diversity of shades ; especially in such parts of the forest where 



OF FOREST-TREES. 91 

large trees with extraordinary success : And therefore it were not amiss CHAP. III. 
to bore and search the ground where you intend to plant or sow, before ^"^"V^^ 
you fall to work, since earth too shallow or rocky is not so proper 
for this timber ; the roots fix not kindly, and though for a time they may 
seem to flourish, yet they will dwindle. In the mean time, it is wonder- 
ful to consider how strangely the Oak will penetrate to come to a marly 



" four, five, and sometimes more of the large hill-points meet in the same valley, and tend, 
"as it were, to the same centre. 

" After those patches are planted, or marked out for that purpose, we then proceed 
"to the planting in general. We always begin with planting the largest young trees 
" of every sort, and end our work with those of the smallest size ; were we to proceed 
" otherwise, the making a. hole for a larger-sized tree, after the small ones are thick 
"planted, would cause the greatest confusion. 

" Birch is generally the sort of tree we make our beginning with, which we find will bear 
" to be removed with great safety, at the height of six or seven feet, though we commonly 
"plant rather under than at that size. This sort of tree we are always supplied with 
" from our plantations of five or six years growth. But before I proceed to the taking 
" them up, it will be proper to inform you, that in the planting season, we divide our hands 
" into four classes, which we term Takers- up, Pruners, Carriers, and Planters: And here 
" I shall describe the several methods of dohig this work. 

" First, in taking up we have the same care to take up with good roots in the plantations, 
" as was recommended in the nursery, though we cannot pursue the same method ; but 
" in both places, so soon as the plants are taken up, we bed them in the ground in the 
" following manner : Dig a trench at least fifteen inches deep, and set the young trees 
" therein with their tops aslant, covering their roots well as we go along, and almost half 
" way up the stem of the plants, with the earth that comes out of a second trench, which 
" we fill in the like manner, and so proceed on till we have a load, more or less, in a heap, 
" as may be convenient to the place from whence they were taken. In our light soil this 
" trouble is but little, and we always have our plants secure, both from their roots drying, 
" and their suffering by frost. We have a low-wheeled waggon to carry them from the 
" heaps, where they are bedded, to the pruners, and generally take two loads every other 
"day. When they arrive, the planters, pruners, &c. all assist to bed them there, in the 
" same manner as before described. We have a portable shed for the pruners to work 
" under, which is also convenient for the rest of the work-people to take shelter under 
" in stormy weather. From the above heaps the plants are taken only so fast as they are 
" wanted for pruning, which work we thus perform : Cut off all the branches close to the 
" stem to about half the height of the plant, shortening the rest of the top to a conical 
" form in proportion to the size of the plant ; and in pruning of the roots, we only cut off 
"the extreme parts that have been bruised by the taking up, or such as have been 
" damaged by accident, wishing at all times to plant with as much root as can be had. 

" As soon as they are pruned they are taken to the planters, by the carriers, who are 
"generally a set of boys, with some of the worst of the labourers. The planters 

T 2 



92 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK^I. bottom ; so as where we find this tree to prosper, the indication of a fruit- 
ful and excellent soil is certain, even by the token of this natural augury- 
only : thus by the plantation of this tree and some others, we have the 
advantage of profit raised from the pregnancy, substance, and depth 
of our land ; whilst by the grass and corn (whose roots are but a few 
inches deep) we have the benefit of the crust only. 



" go in pairs, one makes the holes, and the other sets and treads the plants fast, which 
*' work they commonly do by turns. In making of the holes we always take care to throw 
" out all the bad soil that comes from the bottom ; if the planting be on the side of a hill, 
" we lay the bad soil on the lower side of the hole, so as to form a kind of basin : for 
" without this care our plants would lose the advantage of such rains as fall hastily. — 
" We at all times make the holes sufficiently large, which is done with great ease after 
" our deep ploughing. 

" Before we set the plant, we throw a few spadefuls of the top soil into the hole, setting 
"the plant thereon with its top rather inclining to the west; then fill up the hole with 
*' the best top soil, taking care that it closes well with the roots, leaving no part hollow, 
" When the hole is well filled up, one of the planters treads and fastens the tree firmly 
" with his feet, while his partner proceeds to make the next hole. 

" The fastening a tree well is a material article in planting ; for if it once becomes 
" loose, the continual motion which the wind occasions, is sure to destroy the fibi'es as fast 
" as they are produced, which must end in the destruction of the plant, if not prevented. 
" It is to guard against this inconveniency that we take off so much of the top, as has been 
" described in the article of pruning. 

" We plant about three or four hundred Birches of the large size on an acre, and nearly 
" the same number of the first-sized Oaks ; we also plant here and there a Beech, Larch, 
" Spanish Chestnut, &c. exclusive of the patches of' the said sorts of trees before planted.— 
"We then proceed to plant plentifully of the second and lesser-sized Oaks; and last 
" of all a great number of the small Birches, which are procured from the woods at about 
" three shillings or three shillings and sixpence per thousand : These we remove 
"to the succeeding plantations after the term of five or six years. Of the several 
♦'sizes of the different kinds of trees, we generally plant upwards of two thousand plants 
" upon an acre of land, all in an irregular manner. 

" After the planting is finished we then sow the acorns, provided it be a season that 
" they can be had,) all over the plantation, except amongst the Beech, Larch, &c. in the 
"aforesaid patches. Great care should be taken to preserve the acorns intended for this 
"purpose, as they are very subject to sprout, especially soon after gathering; the best 
"method is to lay them thin in a dry airy place, and give them frequent turnmgs. — 
" We sow these acorns in short drills of about a foot in length, which work is done very 
" readily by two men, one with the acorns, the other with a hoe for the purpose of makmg 
" drills and covering the seed. 

"We are of opinion that the plants produced from these acorns will at last make 
"the best trees; however, I will not pretend to say how that may be, as the Oaks 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



93 



5. But, to discourage none, Oaks prosper exceedingly even in gravel, CHAP. 
and moist clays, which most other trees abhor ; yea, even the coldest 
clay grounds that will hardly graze : But these trees will frequently 
make stands, as they encounter variety of footing, and sometimes 
proceed again vigorously, as they either penetrate beyond, or outgrow 
their obstructions, and meet better earth ; which is of that consequence. 



" transplanted small, grow equally well for a number of years : But it is probable that 
" a tree with its tap-root undisturbed, may, in the end^ grow to a much larger size. 

" After the whole is finished to a convenient distance round the pruners, we then 
" remove their shed to a second station, and there proceed in the like manner ; and 
" so on till the whole be finished. 

" It would be well to get the planting done by the end of February, especially for trees 
" of the deciduous kind ; but from the disappointments we meet with, occasioned by the 
" weather, we are sometimes detained to a later season. 

" I have several times made trial of twelve or fourteen kinds of American Oaks sent 
" over to his Grace in great quantities. I sowed them in the nursery, and also in the 
" best and most sheltered part of the plantations. In both places they come up very 
" plentifully ; but I now find that several of the sorts will not stand the severity of our 
" winters, and those that do make so small a progress, as to promise no other encouragement 
" than to be kept as curiosities. 

" Towards the end of April, when the ground is moist, it will be of great service 
" to go over the whole plantations, and fasten all such trees as are become loose since 
" their planting ; After this, nothing more will be required till the month of June, when 
" we again go over the whole with hoes, cutting off only the tall-growing weeds ; for the 
" sooner the ground gets covered with grass, in our light soil, so much the better. 

" I own there is something slovenly in the appearance of this method, and on some 
" lands I would recommend keeping the ground clean hoed for some time at first, as also 
" planting in rows, which in that case would be necessary. More than once I have 
" tried this method on our forest-hills, and always found after every hoeing, that the soil 
" was taken away by the succeeding winds into the valleys. 

" Besides this inconvenience, the reflection of our sandy soil is so very great, that 
" we find the plants stand a dry season much better in our present method, than in the 
" former : And whoever fancies that grass will choak or destroy seedling Oaks, will, 
" after a few years trial, find himself agreeably mistaken : I have even recommended the 
" sowing the poorer parts of the hills with furze or whin-seed, as soon as they are planted : 
" We have sometimes permitted the furze to grow in the plantations by way of shelter 
" for the game, which though it seems to choak and over-grow the Oaks for some time, 
" vet after a few years we commonly find the best plants in the strongest beds of whins. 
" This shows how acceptable shelter is to the Oak whilst young ; and experience shows 
" us that the Oak would make but a slow progress on the forest-hills for a number 
" of years at the first, were it not for some kind nurses ; and the Birch seems to answer 
" that purpose the best, as I have already observed. 



94< 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK r. that I dare boldly affirm, more than an hundred years advance is clearly 
■^'V"^*' gained by soil and husbandry. I have yet read, that there grow Oaks 
(some of which have contained ten loads apiece) out of the very walls 
of Silcester in Hampshire, which seem to strike root in the very stones r 



The several sorts of Fir-trees, from appearance, seem to promise a greater shelter ; 
" but on tlie forest-land they do not grow so fast, as the former, and what is worse, the 
" Oak will not thrive under them, as they do immediately under the Birch. 

" Where a plantation is on a plain, a screen of Firs for its boundary is of singular 
" use, but the situation of the forest-land denies us this advantage. 

" We continue to cut down the taU-g rowing weeds two or three times the first summer 
" and perhaps once the next, or second season after planting ; which is all that we do in 
" respect to cleaning. The next winter after planting, we fill up the places with fresh 
" plants where they have miscarried : after which there is little to be done till about the 
" fourth or fifth year ; by which time the small sized Birch, and seedling Oaks, will be 
" grown to a proper size for transplanting : In the thinning of these, due care must be had 
" not to take too many away in one season, but being properly managed, there will be a 
" supply of plants for at least half a dozen years to come. 

" About the same time that the lesser-sized Birch want thinning, the large ones will 
" require to have their lower branches taken off, so as to keep them from injuring the 
" Oaks ; and this is the first profit of our plantations ; the Birch-wood being readily bought 
" up by the broom-makers. This pruning we continue as often as required, till the 
" Birches are grown to a sufficient size to make rails for fencing ; we then cut them down 
" to make room for their betters. 

" By this time the Oaks will be grown to the height of twelve or fourteen feet, when 
" they draw themselves up exceedingly fast : Each plant seems as it were in a state 
" of strife with its neighbour, and in a strict sense they are so, and on no other terms 
" than life for life ; and he whose fate it is to be once over-topped, is soon after compelled 
" to give up the contest for ever. 

" After the Birches are cut down, there is nothing more to be done but thinning the 
" Oaks, from time to time, as may be required, and cutting off their dead branches 
" as frequently as may be necessary. We are very cautious in doing the former, knowing 
" well, that if Ave can but once obtain length of timber, time will bring it into thickness ; 
" therefore we let them grow very close together for the first fifty years. 

" And here it may not be improper to observe the progress the Oak makes with 
" us, by describing them in two of our plantations, one of twenty-eight, the other of fifty 
" years growth. In' the former they are in general about twenty-five or twenty-six feet 
" in height, and in girth about eighteen inches : The trees [in the latter, planted in 1725, 
" are something more than sixty feet in height, and in girth a little above three feet ; 
" and these trees are in general about fifty feet in the bole, from which you will easily 
" conceive the smallness of their tops, even at this age. 

" It would be a difficult matter to describe their farther progress with any degree 
" of certainty, therefore let it suffice to make this last observation on them in their mature 
" state. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 05 

and even in our renowned forest of Dean itself, some goodly Oaks have CHAP. III. 
been noted to grow upon ground, which has been as it were a rock '■"^"v"'^-^ 
of ancient cinders, buried there many ages since. It is indeed, observed, 
that Oaks which grow in rough stony grounds, and obstinate clays, are 



" I should have before observed, that in both the aforesaid, as well as in all 
" the young plantations, the Spanish Chestnut keeps an equal pace, or rather out-grows 
" the Oak ; but it is doubtful whether ever they will arrive at the same size ; for the 
" largest of our Spanish Chestnuts, which have much the appearance of old trees, do not 
" girth more than twelve or fourteen feet, which is nothing in comparison to some of our 
" large Oaks, which girth from twenty-five to thirty feet ; indeed some of them a great 
" deal more : For instance, that remarkable tree called the Greendale Oak, (from its 
" growing in a valley of that name near Welbeck) which in the year 1724 had a hole 
" cut through its body large enough to admit a coach to go through. This great 
" curiosity is yet living, and frequently bears acorns, which we carefully save, to be 
" distributed as presents amongst his Grace's acquaintance. 

" I may omit describing to you the present state of this piece of antiquity, as I Tiave 
" herewith inclosed a drawing of it taken on the spot a few days ago*, from which you *seeCii.iii.B,iii. 
" will see, notwithstanding the uncommon size of the lower part of the tree, that it has 
" never contained any great quantity of timber ; I mean in comparison with seve- 
" ral of our largest Oaks, some of which contain, in their tower-like trunks, between 
" seven and eight hundred solid feet of timber, exclusive of their stately tops ; and some 
" of their large branches are even like trees themselves. 

" You see. Sir, what a surprising mass of wood may arise from a single acorn ! Indeed it 
" is really wonderful to see, on some soils, to what an amazing size this King of Trees will 
" sometimes ai'rive." 

Welbeck, June 16, 1775. 

Having thus described the most approved methods of raising woods and plantations 
from the Acorn and the Nursery, I shall now proceed to consider the necessity of reducing 
them to immediate practice. 

And first I shall observe, that the cutting down of all kinds of wood is become so 
general, that unless some effectual remedy be soon applied, it is more than probable 
that very little full-grown timber will be left in this island for the use of the ship-builder. 
The simple apprehension that this nation will, at some distant period, feel this great 
calamity, cannot but occasion some uneasiness in the minds of those who wish well to their 
country. But when the most serious and positive proofs can be pi'oduced, that, at this 
very moment, the royal navy is in want of that supply, how justly are our fears increased ! — ■ 
and with what zeal ought we to join in warding oft' the impending danger. 

In the year 1763, Mr. Roger Fisher, an eminent ship-builder at Liverpool, actuated 
by a very laudable spirit for the interest of his country, laid before the public a number 
of original letters written by persons conversant in the purchase of ship-timber in almost 
every county of this kingdom. In 1771, the Hon. Augustus Hervey desired these letters 
to be republished, which was accordingly done ; and much about the same time, Mr. 



96 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK r. long before they come to any considerable stature, (for such places, and 
"■^^^^ all sorts of clay, is held but a step-mother to trees,) but in time they 

afford the most excellent timber, having stood long, and got good footing. 

The same may we affirm of the lightest sand, which produces a smoother- 



Fisher received a summons to attend a Committee of the House of Commons, before 
■whom he gave a faithful narrative of what he personally knew of the then scarcity 
of Oak-timber. In consequence of his examination, and other informations exhibited 
by creditable dealers in wood, an act was obtained to encourage the growth of timber 
upon commons and waste lands : But how far the inclinations of the people have co-operated 
with the wisdom of the legislature, I am unable to determine. 

As an inducement to raise plantations of useful timber, I shall here observe, that many 
of the ships which gave laws to the whole world in the last wax*, were constructed from 
Oaks planted soon after the publication of Mr. Evelyn's Silva; and I flatter myself that 
the present Republication will be the means of raising the same virtuous and patriotic spirit. 
We have just before us a princely example: His present Majesty has, with royal 
munificence, ordered a nursery, consisting of twenty acres of land, to be formed upon 
the forest of Knaresborough, to which the tenants of the crown are to have unlimited access 
for the purpose of supplying themselves ( gratis ) with young Oaks, and all sort of trees 
proper for the forest. 

It is remarkable that the Oak was held sacred by the Greeks, the Romans, the Gauls, 
and Britons. Among the Romans this tree was dedicated to Jupiter, as we are informed 
by Pliny : " Arborum genera numinibus suis dicata perpetuo servantur, ut Jovi Esculus." 
By the Britons it was held in great veneration ; and some of the most solemn ceremonies 
of the Druids were held under its sacred shade. The ceremony of cutting the mistletoe 
is circumstantially described by Caesar, Tacitus, and Pliny. 
The acorns, produced by the different species of Oaks, are supposed to have constituted 
part of the food of mankind in the early ages of the world. Lucretius, speaking of 
the first age, says, 

Glandiferas inter curabant corpora quercus 

Plerumque. ■ lib. v. ver. 937. 

Virgil celebrates Ceres for having first taught mankind how to grow com for food : 

Prima Ceres ferro mortales vertere terram 
Instituit : cum jam glandes atque arbuta sacrae 

Deficerent sylva;, et victum Dodona negaret. georg. i. 147. 

And in consequence of this great obligation, the Roman husbandmen, before they began 
their harvest, always crowned their heads with wreaths of Oak in honour of Ceres : 

' Neque ante 

Falcem maturis quisquam supponat aristis, 
Quam Cereri, torta redimitus tempora quercu, 

Det motus incompositos, et carmina dicat. georg. i. 347. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



97 



grained timber, of all other the most useful for the joiner; but that CHAP. III. 

which grows in gravel is subject to be frow, as they term it, and brittle. "^^"^^^ 

What improvement the stirring of the ground about the roots of Oaks 

is to the trees, I have already hinted ; and yet in copses, where they 

stand warm, and so thickened with under-wood, as this culture cannot 

be practised, they prove in time to be goodly trees, I have of late tried 

the grafiing of Oaks, but as yet with slender success. Ruellius indeed 

affirms it will take the Pear and other fruit ; and if we may credit the 

poet, 

A urea durse 

Mala ferant Quercus. ECL. viii. 

The sturdy Oak does golden Apples bear. 

Glandemque sues fregere sub ulmis. georg. ii. 

And greedy swine from grafted Elms are fed. 
With falling acorns that on Oaks are bred. 

Which last I conceive to be the more probable ; for that the sap of 
the Oak is of an unkind tincture to most trees : but for this improve- 
ment, I would rather advise inoculation, as the ordinary Elm upon the 
Witch-Hasel, for those large leaves we shall anon mention, and which 
are so familiar in France. 

6. That the transplanting of young Oaks gains them ten years 
advance, some happy persons have affirmed. From this belief, if 
in a former impression I have desired to be excused, and produced my 
reasons for it, I shall not persist against any sober man's experience ; 
and therefore leave this article to their choice, since, as the butcher's 
phrase is, change of pasture makes fat calves ; and so transplantations 
of these hard- wood trees, when young, may possibly, by a happy hand, 
in fit season, and other circumstances of soil, sun, and room for growth, 
be an improvement. But as for those who advise us to plant Oaks 
of too great a stature, they hardly make any considerable progress 
in an age; and therefore I cannot encourage it, unless the ground 
be extraordinarily qualified, or that the Oak you would transplant 
be not above six or seven feet in height ; yet if any be desirous 
to make trial of it, let their stems be of the smoothest and tenderest 
Volume I. U 



98 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. bark, for that is ever an indication of youth, as well as the paucity 
^^■^^'^^^ of their circles, which, in disbranching and cutting the head off at five 
or six feet in height (a thing, by the way, which the French usually spare 
when they transplant this tree) may, before you stir their roots, serve for 
the more certain guide ; and then plant them immediately, with as much 
earth as will adhere to them, in the place destined for their station, 
so*nI'"^'on o"ly t^i^ t^P-i'oot *, (wliich is that downright and stubby part 

good expe- of the roots which all trees raised of seeds do universally produce,) and 

riciicc will •/ i / 

not allow in quickening some of the rest with a sharp knife (but sparing the fibrous, 

young oliivsf >vhich are the main suckers and mouths of all trees) spread them in the 

taking"the'm ^^^^ which hath been prepared to receive them : 1 say in the foss, 

up without unless you will rather trench the whole field, which is incomparably the 

any abate- , x. j 

ment, or the best Way, and infinitely to be preferred before narrow pits and holes, 
does exceed- aS the manner is, in case you plant any number considerable, the earth 
thi'gm JtTof being hereby made loose, and easier penetrable for the roots, about 
bove such as "^^^i^^h you are to cast that mould which, in opening of the trench, you 
are^deprived took from the surface, and purposely laid apart, because it is sweet, 
mellow, and better impregnated. But, in this work, be circumspect 
never to inter your stem deeper than you found it standing, for profound 
burying very frequently destroys a tree, though an error seldom observed. 
If^ therefore, the roots be sufficiently covered to keep the body steady 
and erect, it is enough ; and the not minding of this trifling circumstance 
does very much deceive our ordinary wood-men, as well as gardeners, 
for most roots Covet the air, though those of the Quercus Urbana least 
of any ; for, like the Esculus^ 

Quae quantum vertice ad auras 

^theras, tantum radice in Tartara tendit. georg. ii. 

High as his topmost boughs to heaven ascend. 
So low his roots to hell's dominion tend. 

And the perfection of that does almost as much concern the prosperity 
of a tree, as of d man himself, since Homo is but Arhor inversa ; which 
prompts me to this curious but important advertisement, that the position 
he likewise sedulously observed. 



7. For the southern parts of all trees being more dilated, and the pores 
exposed (as evidently appears in their horizontal sections) by the constant 



7 



OF FOREST-TREES. 99 

eccentricity of the hyperbolical circles, (save just under the equator, CHAP. III. 
where the circles concentre, as we find in those hard woods which grow ^-^V"^^ 
there,) ours, being now on the sudden, and at such a season, turned 
to the north, does starve and destroy more trees, how careful soever men 
have been in ordering the roots, and preparing the ground, than any 
other accident whatsoever, neglect of staking and defending from cattle 
excepted ; the importance whereof caused the best of poets, and most 
experienced in this argument, when giving advice concerning this 
article, to add, 

Quin etiam coeli regionem in cortice signant : 
Ut, quo quaeque modo steterit, qua parte calores 
Austrinos tulerit, quae terga obverterit axi, 

Restituant : adeo in teneris consuescere multura est. georg. ii. 

Beside, to plant it as it 'was, they mark 
The heav'n's four quarters in the tender bark; 
And to the north or south restore the side. 
Which at their birth did heat or cold abide : 
So strong is custom ; such effects can use 
In tender souls of pliant plants produce. 

Which monition, though Pliny and some others think good to neglect, 
or esteem indifferent, I can confirm from frequent losses of my own, and 
by particular trials, having sometimes transplanted great trees at Mid- 
summer with success (the earth adhering to the roots) and miscarried 
in others, where the circumstance of aspect only was omitted. 

To observe therefore the coast and side of the stock, especially 
of fruit-trees, is not such a trifle as by some pretended ; for if the air 
be as much the mother and nurse, as water and earth, as more than 
probable it is, such blossoming plants as court the motion of the 
meridian sun, do, as it were, evidently point out the advantage they 
receive from their position, by the clearness, politure, and comparative 
splendour of the south side ; and the frequent mossiness of most trees 
on the opposite side, does sufficiently note the unkindness of that aspect, 
most evident in the bark of Oaks, white and smooth on trees growing 
on the south-side of an hill, while those which are exposed to the north, 
have an hard, dark, rougher, and more mossy integument, as I can now 
demonstrate in a prodigious coat of it investing some pyracanths which 

U 2 



100 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. I had removed to a northern dripping shade. I have seen (writes a 
"^1^^ worthy friend to me on this occasion) whole hedge-rows of apples and 
pears that quite perished after their shelter was removed ; the good hus- 
bands expected the contrary, and that the fruit should improve, as freed 
from the predations of the hedge ; but use and custom made that shelter 
necessary, and therefore, saith he, a stock for a time is the weaker, 
taken out of a thicket, if it be not well protected from all sudden and 
fierce invasions, either of crude air or winds. Nor let any be deterred, 
if, being to remove many trees, he shall esteem it too consumptive of 
time ; for, with a brush dipped in any white colour, or ochre, a thousand 
may be speedily marked as they stand ; and that once done, the diffi- 
culty is over. I have been the larger upon these two remarks, because I 
find them so material, and yet so much neglected 

8. There are other rules concerning the situation of trees ; the former 
author commending the north-east wind, both for the flourishing of the 
tree, and advantage of the timber ; but, to my observation, they thrive 
the best in those parts of our climate where those sharp winds do rather 
flanker than blow fully upon our plantations ; and there are as well other 
circumstances to be considered, as they respect rivers, and marshes 
obnoxious to unwholesome and poisonous fogs, hills, and seas, which 
expose them to the weather, and those Sylvifragi venti, our cruel and 
tedious western winds ; all which I leave to observation, because these 
accidents do so universally govern, that it is not easy to determine 
farther, than that the timber is commonly better qualified which hath 
endured the colder aspects without these prejudices. And hence it is 
that Seneca observes, wood most exposed to the winds to be the most 
strong and solid ; and that therefore Chiron made Achilles's spear of a 
mountain tree, and of those the best, which grow thin, not much shel- 
tered from the north. Again, Theophrastus seems to have special regard 
to places, exemplifying in many of Greece, which exceed others for good 



* When it is judged necessary to transplant trees of a large size, Mr. Evelyn's advice 
seems highly to be commended, though Mr. Miller treats it as chimerical. With smaller 
trees the caution is unnecessary. 



y From Pelion's cloudy top an Ash entire 
Old Chiron fell'd, and shap'd it for his sire. 



POPE. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



101 



timber, as, doubtless, do our Oaks in the forest of Dean all others CHAP. III. 

of England : And much certainly there may reasonably be attributed ^-^V^^ 

to these advantages for the growth of timber, and of almost all other 

trees^ as we daily see by their general improsperity, where the ground 

is a hot gravel, and a loose earth. An Oak or Elm in such a place, 

shall not, in an hundred years, overtake one of fifty, planted in a proper 

soil ; though next to this, and, haply, before it, I prefer the good air. — 

Thus have they such vast Junipers in Spain ; and the Ash in some parts 

of the Levant (as of old near Troy) so excellent, as it was after 

mistaken for Cedar, so great was the difference from situation ' ; now the 

Cantabrian, or Spanish, exceeds any we have elsewhere in Europe. — 

And we shall sometimes, in our own country, see woods within a little 

of each other, and, to all appearance, growing on the same soil, where 

Oaks of twenty years growth, or forty, will, in the same bulk, contain 

their double in heart and timber ; and that in one the heart will not 

be so big as a man's arm, when the trunk exceeds a man's body. This 

ought therefore to be weighed in the first plantation of copses, and a good 

eye may discern it in the first shoot ; the difference proceeding, doubtless, 

from the variety of seed, and therefore great care should be had of its 

goodness, and that it be gathered from the best sort of trees, as was 

formerly hinted in the third section of the first chapter. 

9. Veterem arborem transplantare, was said of a difficult enterprise : 
Yet before we take leave of this paragraph, concerning the transplanting 
of great trees, let us show what is possible to be effected in this kind, 
with cost and industry. Count Maurice, the late governor of Brasil for 
the Hollanders, planted a grove near his delicious paradise of Friburgh, 
containing six hundred Cocoa-trees of eight years growth, and fifty feet 
high to the nearest bough ; these he wafted upon floats and engines four 
long miles, and planted them so luckily that they bore abundantly the 



* It appears very extraordinary that situation should make the Ash resemble the Cedar ; 
but Mr. Evelyn asserts this upon the authority of Pliny, who, speaking of the Ash, says, 
"ea quidem, quae fit in Ida Troadis, in tantum Cedro similis, ut ementes fallat, cortice 
ablato," Lib. xvi. Theophrastus, Lib. iii. cap. x. says, that the Yetv (/aJXo?) growing near 
Troy, resembles the Cedar; so that Pliny must have been led into the above mistake by the 
similitude in sound between f^iXo?, the Yew, and fteX/a, the Ash. 



102 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. very first year, as Gasper Barljeus hath related in his elegant description 
of that Prince's expedition. Nor hath this only succeeded in the Indies 
alone ; JNIonsieur de Fiat, one of the Mareschals of France, hath Avith 
huge Oaks done the like at Fiat. Shall I yet bring you nearer home ? 
A great person in Devon, planted Oaks as big as twelve oxen could 
draw, to supply some defect in an avenue to one of his houses, as the 
Right Honourable the Lord Fitz-Harding, late Treasurer of his Majesty's 
Household, assured me, who had himself likewise practised the removing 
of great Oaks by a particular address, extremely ingenious, and worthy 
the communication. 

10. Choose a tree as big as your thigh, remove the earth from about 
it, cut through all the collateral roots, till, with a competent strength, 
you can enforce it down upon one side, so as to come with your ax at 
the tap-root ; cut that off, re-dress your tree, and so let it stand, covered 
about with the mould you loosened from it, till the next year, or longer 
if you think good, then take it up at a fit season ; it will likely have 
drawn new tender roots apt to take, and sufficient for the tree, where- 
soever you shall transplant it. Some are for laying bare the whole root, 
and then dividing it into four parts, in form of a cross, to cut away the 
interjacent rootlings, leaving only the cross and master-roots that were 
spared to support the tree ; then, covering the pit with fresh mould, as 
above, after a year or two, when it has put forth, and furnished the 
interstices you left between the cross-roots with plenty of new fibres and 
tender shoots, you may safely remove the tree itself so soon as you have 
loosened and reduced the four decussated roots, and shortened the tap- 
roots ; and this operation is done without stooping or bending the tree 
at all : And if, in removing it, you preserve as much of the clod about 
the new roots as possible, it would be much the better. 

Pliny notes it as a common thing to re-establish huge trees which 
have been blown down, part of their roots torn up, and the body 
prostrate ; and, in particular, speaks of a fir that, when it was to be trans- 
planted, had a tap-root which went no less than eight cubits perpen- 
dicular. And to these I could super-add, by woeful experience, where 
some Oaks and other old trees of mine tore up with their fall and ruin, 
portions of earth, in which their former spreading roots were engaged, 
little less in bulk and height than some ordinary cottages built on the 



• 



OF FOREST-TREES. 103 

common : Such havock was the effect of the late prodigious hurricane. CHAP. III. 
But to proceed. To facilitate the removal of such monstrous trees for ^^-'•^v**^ 
the adornment of some particular place, or the rarity of the plant, there 
is this farther expedient : A little before the hardest frosts surprise you, 
make a square trench about your tree, at such distance from the stem 
as you judge sufficient for the root ; dig this of competent depths 
so as almost quite to undermine it, by placing blocks and quarters of wood 
to sustain the earth ; this done, cast in as much water as may fill the 
trench, or at least sufficiently wet it, unless the ground were very moist 
before ; thus let it stand till some very hard frost do bind it firmly to the 
roots, and then convey it to the pit prepared for its new station, which 
you may preserve from freezing by laying store of warm litter in it, and 
so close the mould the better to the straggling fibres, placing what you 
take out about your new guest to preserve it in temper ; but in case the 
mould about it be so ponderous as not to be removed by an ordinary 
force, you may then raise it with a crane or pulley, hanging between 
a triangle made of three strong and tall limbs united at the top, where 
a pulley is fastened, as the cables are to be under the quarters which bear 
the earth about the roots ; for by this means you may weigh up, and 
place the whole weighty clod upon a trundle, sledge, or other carriage, 
to be conveyed and replanted where you please, being let down perpen- 
dicularly into the place by the help of the aforesaid engine : And by this 
address you may transplant trees of a wonderful stature without the least 
disorder, and many times without topping, or diminution of the head, 
which is of great importance where this is practised to supply a defect, 
or remove a curiosity. 

11. Some advise that, in planting of Oaks, &c. four or five be suffered 
to stand very near to one another, and then to leave the most prosperous 
•when they find the rest to disturb its growth ; but I conceive it were 
better to plant them at such distances as they may least incommode one 
another : For timber-trees, I would have none nearer than forty feet 
where they stand closest, especially of the spreading kind. 

12. Lastly, Trees of ordinary stature transplanted, (being first well 
watered,) must be sufficiently staked and bushed about with thorns, 
to protect them from the concussion of the winds, and from the casual 
rubbing and poisonous brutting of cattle and sheep, the oiliness of whose 



104 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. wool is also very noxious to them, till being well grown and fixed (which 
'^"'^^'^^ by seven years will be to some competent degree) they shall be able 
to withstand all accidental invasions but the ax ; for I am now come 
to their pruning and cutting, in which work the seasons are of main 
importance. 

13. Therefore, if you would propagate trees for timber, cut not off their 
heads at all, nor be too busy with lopping ; but if you desire shade and 
fuel, or bearing of mast alone, lop off their tops, sear, and unthriving 
branches only. If you intend an outright felling, expect till November; 
for this premature cutting down of trees before the sap is perfectly at rest, 
will be to your exceeding prejudice, by reason of the worm, which will 
certainly breed in timber which is felled before that period ; but in case 
you cut only for the chimney, you need not be so punctual as to the 
time ; yet, for the benefit of what you let stand, observe the moon's 
increase, if you please. The reason of these differences is, because this 
is the best season for the growth of the tree which you do not fell, the 
other for the durableness of the timber which you do ; now, that which 
is to be burnt is not so material for lasting, as the growth of the 
tree is considerable for the timber *, but of these particulars more at large 
in chap. iii. book iii. 

14. The very stump of an Oak, especially that part which is dry and 
above ground, being well grubbed, is many times worth the pains and 
charge for sundry rare and hard works ; and, where timber is dear, 
I could name some who, abandoning this to workmen for their pains 
only, when they perceived the great advantage, repented of their bargain, 
and undertaking it themselves were gainers above half ; I wish only, for 
the expedition of this knotty work, some effectual engine were devised, 
such as I have been told a worthy personage of this nation made use 
of, by which he was able, with one man, to perform more than with 
twelve oxen ; and surely there might be much done by fastening of iron 
hooks and fangs about one root to extract another, the hook chained 
to some portable screw or winch * ; I say such an invention might effect 



* This wish is truly accomplished in the Eradicator invented hy the Hon. Capt. 
Bentinck, and constructed by Mr. Cole, Engine-maker, in London. The deatli of the 
ingenious inventor, at the time when the drawings were nearly completed, has deprived this 
work of one of its most useful oniaments. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



105 



wonders, not only for the extirpation of roots, but the prostrating of huge CHAP, 
trees. That small engine, which by some is called the German Devil, "-^^ 
reformed after this manner, and duly applied, might be very expedient 
for this purpose ; but this is to be practised only where you design a 
final extirpation ; for some have drawn suckers from an old stub root ; 
but they certainly perish by the moss which invades them, and are very 
subject to grow rotten. Pliny speaks of one root which took up an 
entire acre of ground, and Theophrastus describes the Lycean Platanus 
to have spread an hundred feet ; if so, the argument may hold good for 
their growth after the tree is come to its period. They made cups of the 
roots of Oak heretofore ; and such a curiosity Atheeneus tells us was 
carved by Thericleus himself; and there is a way so to tinge Oak, after 
long burying and soaking in water, which gives it a wonderful politure, 
as that it has frequently been taken for a coarse Ebony : Hence, even 
by floating, comes the Bohemian Oak, Polish, and other northern timber, 
to be of such excellent use for some parts of shipping : But the blackness 
which we find in Oaks that have long lain under ground (and may 
be called subterranean timber) proceeds from some vitriolic juice of the 
bed in which they lie, which makes it very weighty ; but, as the excellent 
naturalist, and learned physician. Dr. Sloane, observes, it dries, splits, 
becomes light,, and soon impairs. 

15. There is not in nature a thing more obnoxious to deceit than the 
buying of trees standing, upon the reputation of their appearance to the 
eye, unless the chapman be extraordinarily judicious, so various are their 
hidden and concealed infirmities till they be felled and sawn out ; 
so, as if to any thing applicable, certainly there is nothing which does 
more perfectly confirm it than the most flourishing outside of trees ; 
fronti nulla fides. A timber tree is a merchant adventurer, — you shall 
never know what he is worth till he be dead. 

16. Oaks, in some places where the soil is especially qualified, are 
ready to be cut for copse in fourteen years^ and sooner ; I compute from 
the first semination. Though it be told as an instance of high en- 
couragement, (and as indeed it merits,) that a Lady in Northamptonshire 
sowed acorns, and lived to cut the trees produced from them twice 
in two and twenty years, and both as well grown as most are in sixteen 
or eighteen. This yet is certain, that acorns set in hedge-rows have. 

Volume I. X 



106 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. in thirty years, borne a stem of a foot diameter. Generally, copse-wood 
should be cut close, and at such intervals as the growth requires, which, 
being seldom constant, depends much on the places and the kinds, the 
mould and the air ; and for which there are extant particular statutes 
to direct us ; of all which more at large hereafter. Oak for tan-bark may 
be felled from April to the last of June, by a statute in 1st Jacobi ; and 
there are some for the disbarking of Oaks, and so to let them stand 
before they fell. 

Uses. 17- To enumerate now the incomparable uses of Oak were needless ; 
but so precious was the esteem of it, that of old there was an express 
law amongst the twelve tables concerning the very gathering of the 
acorns, though they should be found fallen in another man's ground. 
The land and the sea do sufficiently speak for the improvement of this 
excellent material ; houses and ships, cities and navies are built with 
it, and there is a kind of it so tough, and extremely compact, that our 
sharpest tools will hardly enter it, and scarcely the very fire itself, 
in which it consumes but slowly, as seeming to partake of a ferruginous 
and metalline shining nature, proper for sundry robust uses. It is doubt- 
less, of all timber hitherto known, the most universally useful and strong; 
for though some trees be harder, as Box, Cornus, Ebony, and divers 
of the Indian woods, yet we find them more fragil, and not so well 
qualified to support great incumbencies and weights ; nor is there any 
timber more lasting, which way so ever used. There has, we know, 
been no little stir amongst learned men, of what material the cross was 
made on which our blessed Saviour suffered : A^enerable Bede, in 
Collectaneis, affirms it to have been framed of several woods, namely. 
Cypress, Cedar, Pine, and Box ; And to confirm it, St. Hierom has cited 
Isaiah Ix. 13. Gloria Libani ad te veniet, et Buxus et Pimcs simul ad 
ornandum locum sanctiftcatmiis mece.et locum pedum meorumglorificabo; 
but, following the version of the LXX, he reads, Cupressus, Pinus, et 
Cedrus, &f. Others insert the Palm, and so compose the cross of no less 
than four different timbers, according to the old verse : 

Quatuor ex lignis Domini citjx dicitur esse. 
Pes crucis est Cedrus, corpus tenet alta Cupressus ; 
^ Palma manus retinet, titulo laetatur Oliva. 

I Nail'd were his feet to Cedar, to Palm his hands. 

Cypress his body bore, title on Olive stands. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 107 

And for this of the Palm, they fetch it from that of Cant. vii. 8. where CHAP. III. 

it is said, Ascendam in Palmam, et apprehendam fructus ejus and from ^^^V^«^ 

other allegorical and mysterious expressions of the sacred text without 

any manner of probability ; whilst by Alphonsus Ciaconus Lipsius, 

Angelus Rocca, Falconius, and divers oth*er learned men writing on this 

subject, and upon accurate examination of the many fragments pretended 

to be parcels of it, it is generally concluded to have been the Oak ; and 

I do verily believe it, since those who have described those countries, 

assure us there is no tree more frequent, which, with relation to several 

celebrations and mysteries under Oaks in the Old Testament, has been 

the subject of many fine discourses. Nor is it likely they should choose 

or assemble so many sorts of woods, with that curiosity, to execute one 

upon, whom they esteemed a malefactor ; besides, we read how heavy 

it was, which Cypress, Cedar, and Palm are not in comparison with 

Oak ; whilst Gretser denies all this, lib. i. chap. vi. and concludes, upon 

his accurate examination of several fragments yet extant, that it is not 

discernible of what timber it was framed. We might add, that the 

furious zeal of the bloody and malicious Jews to see our blessed Lord 

inhumanly executed, could not possibly allow leisure to frame a cross 

of so many rare and curious materials : Let this, therefore, pass for an 

errant legend 

That which is twined and a little wreathed (easily to be discerned 
by the texture of the bark) is best to support burdens, for posts, columns, 
summers, &c. for all which our English Oak is infinitely preferable to the 



^ The Septuagint has it more properly, " Ascendam in palmam, tenebo cacumina 
" ejus." 

*^ In all the editions of the Silva, it is Alpho^jsvs Ciaconus : But I know of no author 
of that name. I suppose that A. Cocquws is meant, who, in l664, wrote a book entitled, 
" Historia ac Contemplatio Sacra Plantarum, Arborum, et Herbarum, quarum sit mentio 
" in Sacra Scriptura." 4to. 

The whole of this seems an unnecessary digression. A superstitious Recluse might 
be allowed to waste his time in investigations of this nature ; but a serious and practical 
Christian, in the humility of his soul, will content himself with the bare truth of the 
historical fact, as recorded in the books of the New Testament. Tanta gmtmm in rebus 
Jrivolis plerumque Religio plin. 

X2 



/ 



108 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. French, which is nothing so useful, nor comparably so strong ; insomuch 
''^'^'y^^ as I have frequently admired at the sudden failing of most goodly timber 
to the eye, which, being employed to these uses, does many times most 
dangerously fly in sunder, as wanting that native spring and toughness 
which our English Oak is endued withal. And here we forget not the 
stress which Sir H. Wotton, and other architects, put even in the 
very position of their growth, their native straightness and loftiness for 
columns, supporters, cross-beams, &c. ; and it is found that the rough- 
grained body of a stubbed Oak is the fittest timber for the case of a 
cider-mill, and such like engines, as best enduring the unquietness 
of a ponderous rolling-stone. It is good for shingles, pales, laths, coopers' 

•And there- ware, clap-board for wainscot (the ancient intestina opera* — works within 

fore were ioin- tvt i • i ' t r' i ' r 

„ : , doors) and some pannels curiously veined, or much esteem in former 

ers called In- ' ^ _ 

testinarii. See times, till the finer-grained Spanish and Norway timber came amongst 
i>eg. ii. Cod. ^vhich is likewise of a whiter colour. There is, in New England, 

1'hcodos 

a certain Red Oak, which, being felled, they season in some moist and 
muddy place. This branches into very curious works. It is observed 
that Oak will not easily glue to other wood, nor very well with its own 
kind ; and some woods will never cohere tolerably, as the Box with 
Hornbeam, though both very hard ; so, nor Service with Cornell, &c. 
Oak is excellent for wheel-spokes, pins, and pegs, for tyling, &c. Mr. 
Blyth makes spars and small building timber of Oaks of eleven years 
growth, which is a prodigious advance. The smallest and straightest 
is best, discovered by the upright tenour of the bark, as being the most 
proper for cleaving ; the knottiest for water-works, piles, and the like, 
because it will drive best and last longest ; the crooked, yet firm, for 
knee-timber in shipping, mill-wheels, &c.* In a word, how absolutely 
necessary the Oak is above all the trees of the forest in naval architecture, 
&c. consult Witsen, lib. i. cap. xiii. 

Were planting of this wood more in use, we should banish our hoops 
of hazel, &;c. for those of good Copse-Oak, which, being made of the 

• Every person who can measure timber thinks himself qualified to value standing 
trees ; but such men are often deceived in their estimates. It is the perfect knowledge 
of the application of the different shaped trees that enables a man to be correct in his 
valuation. A foot of wood may be of little value to one trade, but of great value 
to another. This is the grand secret which enriches the purchasers of standing timber. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



109 



younger shoots, are exceedingly tough and strong ; one of them being cHAP. III. 

of Ground-Oak, will out-last six of the best ash ; but this our coopers ^-^V^^ 

love not to hear of, who work by the great for sale, and for others. The 

smaller truncheons and spray, make billet, bavin, and coals ; and the 

bark is of price with the tanner and dyer, to whom the very saw-dust 

is of use, as are the ashes and lee for bucking linen, and to cure the 

ropishness of wine : And as it is probable the cups of our acorns would 

tan leather as well as the bark, I wonder nobody makes the experiment, 

as done in Turkey with the Valonia, which is a kind of acorn growing 

on the Oaks. The Ground-Oak, while young, is used for poles, cudgels, 

and walking-staffs, much come into mode of late, but to the waste 

of many a hopeful plant which might have proved good timber ; and 

I the rather declaim against the custom, because I suspect they are such 

as are for the most part cut and stolen by idle persons, and brought 

up to London in great bundles, without the knowledge or leave of the 

owners, who would never have gleaned their copses for such trifling uses. 

Here I am again to give a general notice of the peculiar excellency 

of the roots of most trees, for fair, beautiful, charaleted, and lasting 

timber, applicable to many purposes ; such as formerly made hafts for 

daggers, hangers, and knives, handles for staves, tobacco-boxes, and 

elegant joiners' work, and even for some mathematical instruments of the 

larger size, to be had either in or near the roots of many trees ; however, 

it is a kindness to premonish stewards and surveyors, that they do not 

negligently waste those materials : Nor may M^e here omit to mention 

tables for painters, which heretofore were used by the most famous artists, 

especially the curious pieces of Raphael, Durer, and Holbein, and before 

that of canvas, and much more lasting : To these add the galls, mistletoe, 

polypod, agaric, uvse, and many other useful excrescences, to the number 

of above twenty, which doubtless discover the variety of transudations, 

percolations, and contextures of this admirable tree * ; but of the several • vide Johan. 

fruits, and animals generated of them and other trees, Francisco Redi "i" choui, de 

promises an express treatise in his Esperienze intorno alia Generazione HilLi? '^'^'^"'^ 

de gV Insetti. Pliny affirms, that the galls break out altogether in one 

night, about the beginning of J une, and arrive to their full growth in one 

day ; this I should recommend to the experience of some extraordinary 

vigilant wood-man, had we any of our Oaks that produced them, Italy 

and Spain being the nearest that do. Galls are of several kinds, but grow 

upon a different species of Robur from any of ours, which are never 



110 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. known to bring these excrescences to maturity ; the white and imper- 
^"^^y^^ forated are the best ; of all which, and their several species, see Casp. 

Bauhinus, and the excellent Malpighius, in his Discourse de Gallis, and 
other morbous tumours raised by, and producing insects, infecting the 
leaves, stalks, and branches of this tree with a venomous liquor or froth, 
wherein they lay and deposit their eggs, which bore and perforate these 
excrescences when the worms are hatched, so as we see them in galls ^ 

What benefit the mast does universally yield, once in two years 
at least, for the fatting of hogs and deer, I shall show upon another 
occasion before the conclusion of this Discourse. A peck of Acorns 
a day, with a little bran, will make a hog, it is said^ increase a pound 
weight per diem for two months together. They give them also to oxen, 
mingled with bran, chopped or broken ; otherwise they are apt to sprout 
and grow in their bellies ^. Others say they should first be macerated 
in water to extract their malignity, cattle many times perishing without 
this preparation. Cato advises the husbandman to reserve two hundred 
and forty bushels of acorns for his oxen, mingled with a like quantity 
of beans and lupines, and to drench them well. But, in truth, they are 
more proper for swine, and, being so made small, will fatten pigeons, 
peacocks, turkeys, pheasants, and poultry ; nay, it is reported that some 
fishes feed on them, especially the tunny, in such places of the coast 
where trees hang over arms of the sea. Acorns, before the use of wheat 



^Linnaeus, Geoffrey, Scopoli, and Schaeffer have given us very miniite descriptions 
of the different kinds of insects that deposit their eggs upon the leaves of the Oak, Alder, 
Willow, Poplar, &c. 

The flowery leaf 

Wants not its soft inhabitants. Secure, 
Within its winding citadel, the stone 
Holds multitudes. But chief the forest-boughs. 
That dance unnumber'd to the playful breeze, 
The downy orchard, and the melting pulp 
Of mellow fruit, the nameless Nations feed 

Of evanescent Insects. Thomson. 

s The food taken in by ruminant animals does not remain long enough in the stomach 
and intestinal canal to occasion the germination of acorns, mast, or any kind of seed. 
And even if such a luxuriancy of vegetation should take place, still no bad consequences 
could possibly ai'ise from it. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



Ill 



corn was found out, were heretofore the food of men, nay, of Jupiter CHAP. III. 
himself, as well as other productions of the earth, till their luxurious '-^^"^ 
palates were debauched: and even in the time of the Romans, the 
custom was in Spain, to make a second service of acorns and mast, as 
the French now do of marrons and chestnuts, which they likewise used 
to roast under the embers : 

et querna glande repasta 

Equasse annosas vivendo corpora quercus. 

Fed "with the oaken mast, 
The aged trees themselves in years surpass'd. 

And men had indeed hearts of Oak ; I mean, not so hard, but health 
and strength, and lived naturally, and with things easily parable and 
plain. 

Felix ilia setas mundi, justissima Nympha, 

Cum dabat umbra domura vivam tua, cum domus ipsa 

Decidua dominos pascebat fruge quietos, 

Solaque praebebant sylvestria poma secundas 

Gramineis epulas mensis ; nondura arte magist ra 

Arbor adulteriis prsetulerat insita nostris. Couleii PI. 1. vi. 

Blest age o' th' world, just nyniph, whe n man did dwell 

Under thy shade whence his provision fell ; 

Salads the meal, wildings were the desert ; 

No tree yet learned, by ill example, art. 

With insititious fruit, to symbolize> 

As in an emblem, our adulteries. 

Thus the sweet poet bespeaks the Dryad. But it is in another place * " Ch. i. b. iv. 
where I show you what this acorn was. And even now I am told, that 
those small young acorns which we find in the stock-doves' craws are 
a delicious fare, as well as those incomparable salads, young herbs 
taken out of the maws of partridges at a certain season of the year, 
which gives them a preparation far exceeding all the art of cookery. — 
Oaks bear also a knur, full of a cottony matter, of which they anciently 
made wick for their lamps and candles; and among the Selectiora 
Bemedia of Jo. Prcevotius, there is mention of an oil e querna glande 
chymically extracted, which he affirms to be of the longest continuance, 
and least consumptive of any other whatsoever for such lights, ita et uncia 
singulis mensihus vix absumatur continuo igne. The ingenious author 



112 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. of the Description of the Western Isles of Scotland tells us, that, upon 
"^"^'^^^ his own experience, a rod of Oak, of four, five, six, or eight inches 
about, being twisted like a wyth, boiled in wort, well dried, and 
kept in a little bundle of barley-straw, and then steeped again in wort, 
causes it to ferment, and procures yeast. The rod should be cut before 
mid-day, and is frequently used in this manner to furnish yeast, and, 
being preserved, will serve, and produce the same effect many years 
together; and, as the historian affirms, that he was showed a piece 
of thick wyth which had been kept for making ale with for above twenty 
years \ In the mean time, the leaves of Oaks abundantly congested 
on snow, preserve it as well, for wine, as a deep pit, or the most artificial 
refrigeratory. Nor must we pass by the sweet mildews, so much more 
copiously found on this tree than any other, whence the industrious 
bees gather such abundance of honey, as that, instead of carrying 
it to their hives, they glut themselves to death : But, from this ill report, 
hastily taken up by Euricius Cordus, our learned Mr. Ray has vindicated 
this temperate and abstemious useful creature. Varro affirms they made 
salt of Oak ashes, with which they sometimes seasoned meat, but more 
frequently made use of it to sprinkle among, and fertilize their seed- 
corn ; which minds me of a certain Oak, found buried somewhere 
in Transylvania, near the salt-pits, that was entirely converted into 
an hard salt when they came to examine it by cutting. This experiment, 
if true, may possibly encourage some other attempts for the multiplying 
of salt. Nor less strange is that which some report of a certain water, 
somewhere in Hungary, which transmutes the leaves of this tree into 
brass, and iron into copper. ' Of the galls is made trial of spaw water. 



^ It is a practice in some parts of this country to dry yeast upon cap-paper, placed 
in a wicker basket, in order that the ale may filter through. A small portion of this dried 
cake, beaten up with warm water and a little pot-ash, makes an extemporaneous ferment 
for bread. 

^ Brass is a factitious metal, and never discovered in a natural state; so that what 
Mr. Evelyn here says must be regarded as fabulous. With respect to what he mentions 
of iron being converted into copper, there is the appearance of truth in the experiment. 
In Ireland there is a spring, in which, if plates of iron are laid, they will be converted, 
in a few weeks, into copper: But in this case there is a fallacy, and no real transmutation. 
The particles of iron are corroded by the acid in the water, and the particles of the copper, 
minutely suspended in the menstruum, are deposited in their place. In this manner 
considerable quantities of copper are collected. 



\ 



OF FOREST-TREES. 113 

and the ground and basis of several dyes, especially sadder colours, and cHAP. 
are a great revenue to those who have quantities of them. Nor must 
I forget ink, composed of galls | iiij, copperas ^ ij, gum arable ^ i; beat 
the galls gross, and put them into a quart of claret or French wine, and 
let them soak for eight or nine days, setting the vessel (an earthen glazed 
pitcher is best) in the hot sun, if in summer, but in winter near the fire, 
stirring it frequently with a wooden spatula ; then add the copperas and 
gum ; and after it has stood a day or two it will be fit to use. There are 
a world of receipts more, of which see Caneparius de Atramentis. — 
Of the very moss of the Oak, that which is white composes the choicest 
cypress-powder, which is esteemed good for the head ; but impostors 
familiarly vend other mosses under that name, as they do the fungi 
(excellent in hajmorrhages and fluxes) for the true agaric, to the great 
scandal of physic. Young red oaken leaves, decocted in wine, make 
an excellent gargle for a sore mouth ; and almost every part of this 
tree is sovereign against fluxes in general, and where astringents are 
proper. The dew that impearls the leaves in May, insolated, meteorizes, 
and sends up a liquor which is of admirable effect in ruptures. The 
liquor issuing out between the bark, which looks like treacle, has many 
sovereign virtues. And some affirm the water stagnate in the hollow 
stump of a newly-felled Oak is as effectual as lignum sanctum in the 
foul disease, and also stops a diarrhoea. A water distilled from the acorns^ 
is good against the phthisic and stitch in the side ; it heals inward ulcers ; 
breaks the stone, and refrigerates inflammations, being applied with linen 
dipt therein : Nay, the acorns themselves, eaten fasting, kill the worms, 
provoke urine, and, some affirm, break even the stone itself. The coals 
of Oak, beaten and mingled with honey, cure the carbuncle. We shall 
say nothing of the viscuses, polypods, and other excrescences, of which 
innumerable remedies are composed, noble antidotes, syrups, &c. — 
Nay, it is reported, that the very shade of this tree is so wholesome, that 
the sleeping, or lying under it, becomes a present remedy to paralytics, 
and recovers those whom the mistaken malign influence of the Walnut- 
tree has smitten But what is still more strange, I read in one Paulus, 



The ancients, who were fond of refreshing themselves under the shade of trees, caution 
us against the influence of the Walnut. Pliny says of its shade, " gravis et noxia, etiam 
capiti humano, omnibusque juxta satis." Lib. xvii. c. xviii. 
Volume I, Y 



114 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. a physician of Denmark, that a handful or two of small Oak buttons, 
"^y^^^ mingled with oats, and given to horses which are black, will, in a few 

days eating, alter their colour to a fine dapple gray ; and this he attributes 

to the vitriol abounding in this tree '. 

To conclude, upon serious meditation of the various uses of this and 
other trees, we cannot but take notice of the admirable mechanism 
of vegetables in general, as in particular in this species, that, by the 
diversity of percolations, and strainers, and by mixtures, as it were 
of divine chymistry, various concoctions, &c. the sap should be so green 
on the indented leaves, so lustily esculent for hardier and rustic constitu- 
tions in the fruit ; so flat and pallid in the atramental galls ; and, haply, 
so prognostic in the apple ; so suberous in the bark ; (for even the cork- 
tree is but a coarser Oak ; so ouzy in the tanner's pit ; and, in that 
subduction, so wonderfully specific in corroborating the entrails and 
bladder, reins, loins, back, &;c. which are all but the gifts and qualities, 
with many more, that these robust sons of the earth afford us ; and that, 
in other specifics, even the most despicable and vulgar Elder imparts 
to us in its rind, leaves, buds, blossoms, berries, ears, pith, bark, &c. 
which hint may also carry our remarks upon all the varieties of shape, 
leaf, seed, fruit, timber, grain, colour, and aU those other forms that 
philosophers have enumerated ; but which were here too many for us to 
repeat. 



^ The wood contains no vitriol ; neither ought any credit to be given to the experiment. 
Virgil in the fourth Eclogue mentions something of the same kindj but it should be con- 
sidered that he there speaks as a poet, and not as a philosopher : 

Nec varias discet menliri lana colores : 
Ipse sed in pratis aries jam suave rubenti 
Murice, jam croceo mutabit vellera luto: 
Sponte sua sandyx pascentes vestiet agnos. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



115 



CHAPTER IV. 
The ELM^. 

1. XJlmus, the ELM. Of this there are four or five sorts, and, from 
the difference of the s oil and air, divers spurious : Two of these kinds 
are most worth your culture, viz. the Vulgar, or Mountain Elm, which is 
taken to be the Oriptelea of Theophrastus, being of a less jagged and 
smaller leaf ; and the Vernacula, or French Elm, whose leaves are 
thicker and more florid, glabrous, and smooth, delighting in the lower 



CHAP. IV. 



^ The ELM is the next tree that offers itself to our observation : and it deserves this place, 
whether we consider its beauty when growing, or its usefulness when felled. The 
Wych Elm, or Ulmus Campestris, is the only species that grows in Great Britain, the rest 
being varieties. 

ULMUS (campestris) foliis duplicato-serratis ; basi inaequalibus. Lin. Sp. PI. 327. Elm 
with leaves doubly sawed on their edges, and unequal at their base. Ulmus vulgatissima, folio 
lato, scabro. Ger. Emac. 1480. The Common Elm, with a broad rough leaf . The wych elm. 

The Wych Elm is very common in the north-west counties of England, where it grows to a very 
large size, and is generally believed to grow naturally in the woods. The bark of the young 
branches is smooth and very tough, but that of the old trees cracks and is rough. The 
branches spread, and do not grow so erect as those of the small-leaved or English Elm. — 
The leaves are rough, and are doubly sawed on their edges. Their base is unequal, about 
three inches long and two broad, of a dark green colour, and stand upon short foot-stalks. — 
The flowers come out in March upon the slender twigs, standing in clusters ; they are 
of a deep red colour ; these are succeeded by oval bordered capsules, containing one 
roundish compressed seed, which ripens in May. The wood of this tree is good for all the 
purposes of any kind of Elm ; but the leaves do not come out till late in the spring, so there 
are few persons who plant these trees near their habitations. The five following are 
varieties. 

1. ULMUS ('sc^BR^^ foliis oblongo-ovatis inaequaliter serratis, calycibus foliaceis. Elm 
with oblong, oval leaves, which are unequally sawed, and have leafy empalements to the jlowers. 
Ulmus folio latissimo, scabro. Ger. Emac. 1481. Elm with a rough and very broad leaf. 
The wych hazel. 

This sort grows naturally in some of the northern counties of England, where it is called Wych 
Hazel, from the resemblance that the young shoots and leaves bear to those of Hazel.— 
It grows to a tree of great magnitude. The bark of the young shoots is very smooth and 
tough; it is of a yellowish brown colour, with spots of white. The leaves are oval, six 

Y 2 



116 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. and moister grounds, where they will sometimes rise to above an hundred 
"^"^'"'^ feet in height, and a prodigious growth, in less than a person's age ; 

myself having seen one planted by the hand of a Countess, living not 
long since, which was near twelve feet in compass ; and of an height 
proportionable, notwithstanding the numerous progeny which grew 
under the shade of it, some whereof were at least a foot in diameter, 



inches long, and almost four broad, and are equally sawed on their edges. The flowers 
grow in clusters towards the end of the twigs ; they have long leafy empaiements of a green 
colour, and appear in the spring before their leaves, and the seeds ripen the latter end 
of May. Formerly, when long bows were in use, many of them were made of the boughs 
of this tree. 

2. ULMUS ("SATIVA J foliis ovatis acuminatis duplicato-serratis, basi inaequalibus. Elm 
with oval, acute-pointed leaves, which are doubly sawed, and unequal at their base. Ulmus 
minor, folio angusto, scabro. Ger. Emac. 1480. The small-leaved, or English elm. 

This kind is commonly known in the nursery-gardens by the title of English £im, which 
is far from being a right appellation; for it is not a native of England, and is only found 
growing near London, or in plantations where the young trees were procured from the 
neighbourhood of London. Where this tree grows naturally, it is not easy to determine ; 
some persons suppose it was brought from Germany. The flowers are of a purplish red 
colour, and generally appear about the middle of Marcii ; but Mr. Miller could never ob- 
serve any seeds upon this sort. It is by some called the Cornish Elm. 

3. ULMUS C GLABRA ) foliis ovatis glabris, acute-serratis. Elm with oval, smooth leaves, 
which are sharply sawed on their edges. Ulmus folio glabro. Ger. Emac. 1481. The 

SMOOTH-LEAVED ELM. 

This is very common in several parts of Hertfordshire, Essex, and other north-east counties 
of England, where it grows to a large tree, and is much esteemed. The branches spread 
out like those of the first sort. The leaves are oval, and sharply sawed on their edges ; they 
are smoother than most of the other sorts, and do not appear till the middle or latter end 
of May, so that this kind is seldom planted near habitations. 

4. ULMUS ( HOLLANDicA ) foliis ovatis acuminatis rugosis, inffiqualiter serratis, cortice 
fungoso. Elm with oval, acute-pointed, rough leaves, which are unequally sawed, and a fungus 
bark. The dutch elm. 

This sort is well known by the title of Dutch Elm. It was brought from Holland about the 
beginning of the reign of King William, and was employed in farming hedges in gardens; 
but that taste being now justly exploded, the tree is no longer noticed in this country. 

5. ULMUS (minor ) foliis oblongo-ovatis glabris acuminatis duplicato-serratis. Elm with 
oblong, smooth, acute-pointed leaves, which are dmbly sawed. Ulmus minor, folio angusto, 
glabro. Elm with smooth narrow leaves. The upright elm. 



7 



OF FOREST-TREES. 117 

that, for want of being seasonably transplanted, must needs have hindered CHAP. IV. 
the procerity of their ample and indulgent mother. v^vw 

2. For though both these sorts are raised of appendices or suckers, as 
anon we shall describe, yet this latter comes well from the samera, 
or seeds, and therefore I suppose it to be the ancient Atinia ; for such 



This is found growing in hedge-rows in several parts of England. The branches have a smooth 
grayish bark, and grow erect. The leaves are narrower, and more pointed than those of the 
English Elm, and are smoother; they are later in coming out in the spring than those, but 
continue longer in autumn. 

6. ULMUS {AMERICANA ) foliis aequaliter serratis ; basi inaequalibus. Sp. PI. 327. Ulmus 
fructu membranaceo, foliis simplicissirae serratis. Gron. Virg. 145. The American elm. 

This species grows plentifully about Fort Anne, in North America, of which there are two 
kinds, the white and the red. Of the bark of the former boats are made. 

The ELM is stationed in the class and order Penlandria Digynia, there being in each 
flower five stamina and two styles. The flowers are in full bloom about the beginning 
of April, and the leaves open about the middle of the same month ; but the seeds do not 
ripen before the beginning of June. 

Of this tree there are many varieties which are preserved in the nursery-gai'dens, but 
their difference is not remarkable enough to deserve notice ; they are therefore omitted, 
as are also those with variegated leaves, of which there are severals sorts propagated 
in the nurseries about London. 

Elms are propagated by layers, by seeds, and by grafting on their own kind. 

In order to propagate them by layers, proper stools for the purpose must be first 
obtained; to procure which, let a piece of good ground be double dug, and let Elms 
of about four or five feet high be planted in it, at the distance of about ten feet : if they 
make good shoots in the first yeai-, they may be cut down early the spring following ; 
if not, they should remain two years before they are headed for stools; which should 
be done by cutting them down to within half a foot of the ground. After they are cut 
down they should be suffered to grow undistui-bed for two years: The ground between 
the stools must be dug in the winter, and constantly hoed as the weeds arise in the 
summer ; and at the end of that time, that is two years, the branches growing from these 
stools will be fit for layering, which may be performed thus : Open a piece of ground wide 
enough to receive a whole branch, and let the hollow be about half a foot deep ; then 
splash the branch with a knife, near the body of the stool, that its head may be more 
readily brought into the prepared place: Next, thrust an hooked stick into the ground 
to hold it down; takeoff all the superfluous branches which cross, and would otherwise 
incommode those that are to be continued: After this, slit all the remaining young 
branches half- way through, turning the edge of the knife towards the extremity of the 
branch. When this is done the mould should be gently put amongst them, and they 



118 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. -l^l^^ ^^^^y iicknovvledge to be raised of seeds, which, being ripe about 
-^V^^ the beginning of JMay, though frequently not till the following month, 
will produce them ; as may be seen abundantly in the gardens of the 
Thuilleries, and that of Luxembourg, at Paris, where they usually sow 
themselves, and come up very thick ; and so do they in many places 
of our country, though so seldom taken notice of, as that it is esteemed 



should have all then- ends bent towards the stool, that the slit may be kept open. Lastly, 
having the whole vacuity filled with its own mould, smooth and even, take off the end 
of each twig that peeps above the ground, down to one eye ; and the branch, thus laid, will 
afford as many plants as there are buds peeping out of the ground. Proceed in like manner 
to the other branches of the same stool, then to the next stool in order, and so on, until the 
whole business of layering be finished. 

By the autumn following, these layers will have taken root, and many of them -will have 
made a shoot of near a yard in length. It is then necessary to take them from their stools, 
and plant them in some double-dug ground in the nursery. They should be set in rows 
three feet asunder, and the distance allowed them from each other in the rows ought to be a 
foot and a half. Here they man stand till they are planted out where they are to remain, 
with no farther trouble than digging the ground between the two rows every winter, and, in 
the same summer, carefully watching those which shoot out two branches at the head, and 
nipping the weakest of them off. 

After the layers are taken up, the stools must have all the wounded parts, occasioned 
by the former splashing, taken away ; the old branches also should be cut off pretty close 
to the stem, and in the spring they will begin to shoot out fresh branches again for 
a second layering, which will likewise be ready to have the same operation performed 
the second year after: And thus may this layering be performed on these stools every 
other year. But nurserymen, who must raise great quantities of trees this way, should be 
provided with two quarters of stools, to come in alternately, so that from one or other 
of them they may annually receive a crop. 

Another, and by far the most expeditious method of raising Elms, is by sowing the 
seeds ; but this practice chiefly respects the Wych Elm, the seeds of the others very 
rarely ripening in this country. In order, therefore, to obtain a good quantity of these 
Elms, let the seeds be gathered the beginning of June, it being the time when they are full 
ripe. When gathered, spread them three or four days to dry ; for, if they were to be sown 
immediately upon being gathered, they would rot. Having been spread about that time, 
and the ground, which ought to be fresh and good, being in readiness for their reception, 
mark out your beds four feet wide, and let the alleys between them be a foot and a half 
or two feet broad. Rake the mould out of the beds until they are about an inch deep ; 
riddle that -which came out of the beds into them again, until the bottom of each bed 
be raised half an inch fi. e, half filled) with riddled mould; then gently press the mould 
down with the back of the spade, and sow the seeds thinly all over it with an even hand, 
covering them down with fine earth about half an inch deep. When the seeds are all 
sown this way, the beds should be hooped and covered with mats, to shade the plants 



I 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



119 



a fable by the less observant and ignorant vulgar : Let it therefore CHAP. IV. 
be tried in season, by turning and raking some fine earth, often refreshed * ^u"^' 
under some amply spreading tree ; or to raise them of their seeds, 
being well dried a day or two before, sprinkled on beds prepared 
of good loamy fresh earth, and sifting some of the finest mould thinly 
over them, and watering them when need requires : Being risen, which 



dui'ing the hot season ; and they should also sometimes be refreshed with water : Part 
of the young plants will come up in about a month, or sooner ; the others not till the 
spring following. From the time the seeds are sown, to their appearance above ground, 
whenever rain falls, be careful to uncover the beds, and be as ready to cover them again 
when the scorching beams of the sun break out. About the end of August, the mats 
should be wholly taken away, that the plants may be hardened against winter : The 
spring following, a fresh crop will present thenaselves among those that came up the 
summer before : All the summer following they should be constantly kept free from weeds, 
and watered as often as dry weather shall render it necessary ; and in October, or spring, 
they may be planted out in the nursery, at the distance before prescribed for the layers, 
and afterwards should be managed like them. 

Grafting is the next method of propagating Elms, all the sorts of which may be increased 
this way : The stocks for the purpose should be the common broad- leaved, or Wych Elm, 
which must be raised from the seed, and planted out as before. When they have grown 
two years in the nursery they will be of proper size to receive the graft ; the beginning 
of March is the best time for the work. If a large quantity of Elm stocks are 
to be grafted, procure six men in readiness for the purpose : The business of the first man 
is to take the mould from the stem of the stocks, with a spade, down to the root, laying 
the top of the root bai*e ; the next man is to follow him with a sharp pruning-knife, 
cutting off the heads of the stocks, and leaving the stumps to be grafted only about 
two inches above the root ; the third man is the grafter himself, who, having his grafts 
cut about four or five inches in length, all the young wood, and such as have never 
bore lateral branches, in a dish, takes out one of them, and, holding it in his left hand, 
the taper end being from him, with the knife that is in his right, he takes off a slope, 
about an inch and a half, or two inches long ; and, if the grafter be an artist, it will 
be cut as true as if wrought by a plane. This done, he forms a tongue by making a small 
slit upwards, beginning from the top of the slope, and then proceeds to prepare the stock 
to receive it, which is effected by sloping off a side of it, of the same length with the 
sloped graft, that the pails may fit as near as possible : He then makes a cut, nearly at the 
top of the stock, downward, to receive the tongue he had made in the graft; and, having 
properly joined them, he proceeds to the next. After the grafter, follows a person with 
Jjass matting, cut into proper lengths; and, with these, he ties the gi-afts pretty close 
to the stock. The fifth man brings the clay, which should have been prepared a week, 
or longer, before, and well worked and beaten over, mixed with a fourth part of horse- 
dung, and some chopped hay, in order to make it hang the better together ; with this 
he surrounds the graft and the stock. Lastly, the. sixth man comes and closes the clay. 



120 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. may be within four or five months, an inch above ground, refreslied and 
'^y^'^ preserved from the scraping of birds and poultry, comfort the tender 
seedlings by a second sifting of more fine earth to establish them ; thus 
keep them clean weeded for the first two years, cleansing the side- 
boughs ; or, till being of fitting stature to remove into a nursery at wider 
intervals, and even rows, you may thin and transplant them in the same 



Two or three rows being gi-afted, let an additional hand or two be employed, either 
in drawing the earth up above the clay, that it may be wholly covered, or digging the 
ground between the rows, and levelling it, so that nothing of the performed work may 
appear, except the tops of the grafts, above ground. The danger of frost renders this 
precaution highly necessary ; for, if it should be delayed a night or two, and sharp frosts 
should happen, the clay will be apt to fall off; and thus the work will require 
to be repeated : whereas, when it is lapped warm in the manner directed, there will be 
no danger of such an accident. 

A good workman, witli the above-mentioned necessary assistance, will graft about 
a thousand stocks in a day. In the spring, the buds will swell, disclose, and shoot forth 
nearly as soon as those of the tree from which they were taken. By the latter end 
of June they will have shot a foot, or about a foot and a half; when they should be freed 
from the clay, and the matting taken off. At this time, of those which have put forth two 
shoots, the weakest should be taken off, to strengthen the other, and to lighten the head, 
which would otherwise be subject to be broken off by high winds. By autumn the shoot 
will have grown about a yard in length ; and, in the winter, the ground should be dug 
between the rows. 

In this place the plants may remain till they are of a sufficient size to be planted out 
for continuance, with no other trouble than what was directed for the layers; namely, 
keeping them clear of weeds, and digging between the rows in the winter ; at the same 
time taking off all very large side-branches ; and, in the summer, pinching off such young 
shoots, in the head, as may have a tendency to make the tree forked. 

This practice of grafting will be found a valuable improvement of the English Elm, 
if we consider the nature of the Wych Elm, on which it is grafted. First, the W^ych Elm 
not only grows to the largest size of all the sorts, but also grows the fastest. However, 
this is not to be wondered at, if we examine the root, which we shall find more fibrous 
than in any of the other Elms. Now, as all roots are of a spongy nature, to receive the 
juices of the earth for the nourishment and growth of the tree, that tree must necessarily 
grow the fastest whose root is most spongy and porous ; end therefore the English Elm, 
when set upon the root of the Wych, will draw from the earth a greater quantity 
of nutriment. The English Elm, on this basis, will arrive at timber many years sooner 
than when raised by layers, and be also forced to a greater size. 

All kinds of Elms, the Wych excepted, are proper to plant in hedge-rows, upon the 
borders of fields, where they will thrive much better than when planted in a wood, 
or close plantation, and their shade will not be very injurious to whatever grows under 
them ; but when these trees are transplanted out upon banks after this manner, the banks 



OF FOREST-TREES. 121 

manner as you were directed for your young Oaks ; only they shall cHAP. IV. 
not need above one cutting, where they grow less regular and hope- ' -^-"^ 
ful. But because this is an experiment of some curiosity, obnoxious 
to many casualties, and that the producing them from the mother- 
roots of greater trees is very facile and expeditious, besides the 
numbers which are to be found in the hedge-rows and woods, of 



should be well wrought, and cleai'ed from all other i-oots, otherwise the plants, being 
taken from a better soil, will not make much progress in these places. Michaelmas 
is a good time for this work ; but when planted, they should be staked to prevent their 
being displaced by the winds, and part of their heads should be taken off before they 
are planted, which will be of use in preventing their being easily overturned by winds ; 
but by no means should their leading shoot be stopped, nor the branches too closely cut 
off ; for if there are not some shoots left on to draw and attract the sap, they will be in 
danger of miscarrying. 

These trees are also proper to plant at a distance from a garden or building, to break 
the violence of the winds, for which purpose there is not any tree more useful ; for they 
may be trained up in form of a hedge, keeping them cut every year, which will cause 
them to grow very close and handsome to the height of forty or fifty feet, and be a great 
pi-otection against the fury of winds ; but they should not be planted too near a garden, 
where fruit-trees or other plants are placed, because the roots of the Elms run superficially 
upon the ground to a great distance, and will intermix with the roots of other trees, and 
deprive them of nourishment ; nor should they be planted near gravel or grass- walks, 
which are designed to be well kept, because the roots will run into them, and send forth 
suckers in great plenty, which will deface the walks, and render them unsightly. It must 
however be considered, that by grafting the English Elm upon the Wych stock, the 
inconveniences from the spreading of the roots will be removed. 

The Elm may be removed when grown to a considerable size ; so that a person who 
is willing to have his plantations for shade in a short time, may procure trees of near one 
foot circumference in their trunk, which will be in little danger of miscarrying, provided 
they are removed with care : And these will take root, and grow very well, though not 
so well as young plants, which is what few other sorts of trees will do ; but then they 
should be such trees as have been regularly trained in a nursery, and have good roots, 
and not such as are taken out of hedge-rows, (as is by some practised,) which seldom rise 
with any tolerable roots, and consequently often miscarry ; and this has been the occasion 
of so many plantations of these ti-ees failing ; for although some of them may live a few 
years, yet few of them are of a long duration, and they rarely increase much in their 
stems ; but frequently grow hollow, their heart decaying first, so that they are supported 
only by their bark or shell, for a few years, and the first severe winter, or very dry 
summer, generally destroys them. 

Although I have said that Elms, which are trained up in a nursery, may be removed 
with safety, at a larger size than most other trees, yet I would not have it understood, 
that by this I would recommend the planting of them when large ; for if people would 

Volume I. Z 



122 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK 1. all plantable sizes, I rather advise our forester to furnish himself from 
"^y^^ those places. 

3. The suckers which I speak of are produced in abundance from the 
roots, whence, being dexterously separated, after the earth has been 
well loosened, and planted about the end of October, they will grow 



have a little patience when they plant, and never plant any of these trees which are more 
than four or five inches in the girt of the stem, they would in a few years, have better 
trees than if they had put down such as were of a larger size ; besides, small trees are 
much more easily removed, and do not require to be so strongly supported, nor is there 
much danger of their miscarrying ; therefore it is much more eligible to make choice 
of young thriving trees, and never to plant any large ones, unless where a small number 
may be wanted for an immediate shade. 

In planting of Elms, great care must be taken not to bury their roots too deep, which 
is very injurious to them, especially if they are planted on a moist loam or clay ; in which 
case, if tlie clay be near the surface, it will be the best way to i-aise the ground in a hill, 
where each tree is to be planted, which will advance their roots above the surface of the 
ground, so that they will not be in danger of rotting in winter from too much moisture. 

The Wych Elm is by no means proper to plant in hedge-rows or open fields, as it throws 
out monstrous large arms, on which account it is not so beautiful as the English Elm : 
Few of these therefore should be planted, unless it be to make a contrast with the others. 
Tliis tree, however, is very ptoper to be planted for woods ; for^ being near each other, 
they will aspire like the Oak ; no great arms will be produced, but a clear noble trunk 
will pi-esent itself to a great height. 

Whoever is desirous of having an Ulmariian, or wood of these Elms, must raise the plants 
in the seminary, as before directed, and afterwards plant them in the nursery. The rows 
need not be wider than two feet, nor the plants above a foot asunder, if ground is scarce, 
as they must be soon taken from hence to form the wood : When they are about three 
or four feet high, they will be of a proper size for this purpose. The ground should 
be made ready for their reception, which 1 would advise to have done by double digging ; 
but, if this should be thought too expensive, and the plantation is designed to be very 
large, let it be ploughed very deep with a very strong plough, that the turf, or rich soil, 
may be worked down, in order to receive the roots of the plants when they strike. This 
being done, make the holes all over the ground ; and as these trees are not so large 
as those planted for standards, they need not be so wide ; a foot and a half will be suffi- 
cient. If the best mould, designed to lap the roots in, is not very pliable or fine, it will 
be proper to let the holes remain open some time, and the mould must be exposed to the 
sun, rain, and frost, which will greatly mellow it, and render it fitter for the purpose. — 
The distance of these holes should be two yards. Having taken the trees out of the 
nursery, cut oif all large lateral branches, and shorten the side-shoots in proportion to the 
root ; and, having also taken off all the bruised parts of the roots, proceed to plant them. 
After this, they will require no farther care till their branches begin to touch one another; 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



123 



very well ; nay, the stubs only, which are left in the ground after a felling, CHAP, 
being fenced in as far as the roots extend, will furnish you with plenty, 
which may be transplanted, from the first year or two successively, 
by slipping them from the roots, which will continually supply you for 
many years, after that the body of the mother-tree has been cut down : 
And from hence probably is sprung that (I fear) mistake of Salmasius 
and others, where they write of the growing of their chips (I suppose 
having some of the bark on) scattered in hewing of their timber ; the 
error proceeding from this, that, after an Elm-tree has been felled, the 
numerous suckers, which shoot from the remainders of the latent roots, 
seem to be produced from this dispersion of the chips : Let this yet 
be more accurately examined ; for I pronounce nothing magisterially, 
since it is so confidently reported. 



when they should be thinned, by taking away every second, or rather the less-thriving 
trees, all over the plantation. Thus they may continue until the branches meet again, 
when they should undergo a second thinning, taking care to grub up the old roots. When 
managed in this manner, the trees will become noble, lofty, and valuable. 

Columella, in his twelfth chapter de Arboribiis, informs us, that Elms were principally 
employed in making living props to vines ; and that vineyards, formed upon this extensive 
plan, were named Arbusta, the vines themselves being called Arbustivce Files, to distinguish 
them from others raised in more confined situations. Since the introduction of silk-worms 
into Italy, the Mulberry-trees in many places, are pollarded for the double purpose 
of supporting vines, and supplying leaves for feeding the worms. Once in two years the 
Elms were carefully pruned, to prevent their leaves from overshadowing the grapes ; and 
this operation was deemed of great importance. Corydon is reproached for a double 
neglect, in suffering both his Elms and Vines to remain unpruned : 

Seniiputata tibi frondosa vitis in Ulmo est. ecl. 11. 1. 70. 

Virgil, in his elegant description of the implements of husbandry, recoinmends the buris 
or plough-tail, to be made of an E Im bent in the woods : 

Continuo in sylvis mag na vi flexa domatur 

In burim, et curvi formam accipit Ulmus aratri. georg. i. 1. 170. 

From this passage, it is probable that the hint was taken of forming knee-timber 
by bending down young Oaks. 

Among the ancients, it was customary to plant about their tombs such trees as bore 
no seeds, particularly the Elm : 

Jove's Sylvan daughters bade their Elms bestow 

A barren shade, and in his honour grow. pope's homer, vi. 1. 530, 

Z 2 



124 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. 4. I have known stakes, sharpened at the ends for other purposes, take 
"^"^^"^^ root familiarly in moist grounds, and become trees ; and divers have 
essayed, with extraordinary success, the truncheons of the boughs and 
arms of Elms, cut to the scantling of a man's arm, about an ell in length : 
These must be chopped on each side opposite, then laid into trenches 
about half a foot deep, and covered about two or three fingers deep with 
good mould. The season for this work is towards the exit of January, 
or early in February, if the frosts impede not ; and, after the first year, 
you may cut or saw the truncheons off in as many places as you find 
cause, and as the shoots and rooted sprouts will direct you for trans- 
plantation. Another expedient for the propagation of Elms is this: Let 
trenches be sunk at a good distance, viz. twenty or thirty yards from 
such trees as stand in hedge-rows, and in such order as you desire your 
Elms should grow : Where these gutters are, many young Elms will 
spring from the small roots of the adjoining trees. Divide, after one 
year, the shoots from their mother-roots, which you may dexterously 
do with a sharp spade, and these, transplanted, will prove good trees 
without any damage to their progenitors. Or do thus : Lop a young 
Elm, the lop being about three years growth ; do it in the latter end 
of March, when the sap begins to creep up into the boughs, and the 
buds are ready to break out ; cut the boughs into lengths of four feet 
slanting, leaving the knot where the bud seems to put forth in the 
middle : Inter these short pieces in trenches of three or four inches deep, 
and in good mould well trodden, and they will infallibly produce you 
a crop ; for even the smallest suckers of Elms will grow, being set when 
the sap is newly stirring in them. There is yet a fourth way, no less 
expeditious, and frequently confirmed with excellent success; Bare some 
of the master-roots of a vigorous tree within a foot of the trunk, 
or thereabouts, and with your axe make several chops, putting a small 
stone into every cleft to hinder the closure, and give access to the wet ; 
then cover them with three or four inches of earth, and thus they will 
send forth suckers in abundance ; I assure you, one single Elm, thus well 
ordered, is a fair nursery, which, after two or three years, you may 
separate and plant in the Ulmarium, or place designed for them ; and 
which, if it be in plumps, as they call them, within ten or twelve feet 
of each other, or in hedge-rows, it will be better ; for the Elm is a tree 
of consort, sociable, and so alFecting to grow in company, that the very 
best which I have ever seen do almost touch one another : This also 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



125 



protects them from the winds, and causes them to shoot of extraordinary CHAP. 
height, so as, in little more than forty years^ they arrive to a load ^"^^ 
of timber, provided they be sedulously and carefully cultivated, and the 
soil propitious ; for an Elm does not thrive so well in the forest, as where 
it may enjoy scope for the roots to dilate and spread at the sides, 
as in hedge-rows and avenues, where they have the air likewise free. — ^ 
Note, that they spring abundantly by layers also. 

5. There is, besides these sorts we have named, one of a more 
scabrous harsh leaf, but very large, which becomes an huge tree, 
(frequent in the northern counties,) and is distinguished by the name 
of the Witch-Hasle in our Statute Books, as serving formerly to make 
long bows of: The timber is not so good as the first more vulgar ; 
but the bark, at a proper season of the year, will serve to make coarse 
bast-rope. 

6. Of all the trees which grow in our woods, there is none which does 
better suffer the transplantation than the Elm ; for you may remove 
a tree of twenty years growth with undoubted success : It is an experi- 
ment I have made in a tree almost as big as my waist ; but then you 
must totally disbranch him, leaving all the summit entire, and, being 
careful to take him up with as much earth as you can, refresh him with 
abundance of water. This is an excellent and expeditious way for 
great persons to plant the accesses of their houses with : for, being 
disposed at sixteen or eighteen feet interval, they will, in a few years, 
bear goodly heads, and thrive to admiration. Some that are very 
cautious, emplaster the wounds of such over-grown Elms with a mixture 
of clay and horse-dung, bound about them with a wisp of hay or fine 
moss ; and I do not reprove it, provided they take care to temper it well, 
so as the vermine nestle not in it. But for more ordinary plantations, 
younger trees, which have their bark smooth and tender, clear of wens 
and tuberous branches, (for those of that sort seldom come to be stately 
trees,) about the scantling of your leg, and their heads trimmed at five 
or six feet height, are to be preferred before all other. Cato would have 
none of these sorts of trees to be removed till they are five or six fingers 
in thickness ; others think they cannot take them too young ; but 
experience, the best mistress, tells us, that you can hardly plant an Elm 



126 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. too big There are who pare away the root within two fingers of tlie 
'■^"^'^^^ stem, and quite cut off the head; but I cannot commend this extreme 
severity, no more than I do the strewing of oats in the pit ; which, 
fermenting with the moisture and frequent waterings, is beUeved much 
to accelerate the putting forth of the roots ; not considering that, for want 
of air, they corrupt and grow musty, which more frequently suffocates 
the roots, and endangers the whole tree. 

7. I have affirmed how patient this tree is of transplantation ; not 
only for that I observe so few of them to grow wild in England, and 
where it may not be suspected but they, or their predecessors, have been 
planted by some industrious hand ; but for that those incomparable 
walks and vistas of them, both at Aranjuez, Casal del Campo, Madrid, 
the Escurial, and other places of delight, belonging to the King and 
Grandees of Spain, are planted with such as they report Philip the Second 
caused to be brought out of England; before which (as that most 
honourable person, the Earl of Sandwich, when his Majesty's Ambassador 
extraordinary at that court, writ to me) it does not appear there were 
any of those trees in all Spain. But, of that plantation, see it more 
particularly described in chapter vii. book iii. of this Discourse, whither 
I refer my reader ; whilst, as to my own inclination, I know of no tree 
amongst all the foresters, becoming the almost interminate Lontananza 
of walks and vistas, comparable to this majestic plant. 

8. The Elm delights in a sound, sweet, and fertile land, something 
more inclined to loamy moisture, and where good pasture is produced ; 
though it will also prosper in the gravelly, provided there be a competent 
depth of mould, and be refreshed with springs ; in defect of which, being 



" It seems to have been thought an excellence amongst the Roman husbandmen to be 
able to transplant large trees. Virgil represents the old Corycian as possessed of that 
knowledge in a high degree : • 

lUe etiam seras in versum distulit Ulmos, 
Eduramque pyrum, et spines jam pruna ferentes, 

Jamque ministrantem platanum potantibus umbras. georg. iv. 1. 144. 

In these verses, it is remarkable that the poet has bestowed upon the trees such epithets 
as prove them to have been of considerable stature. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



127 



planted on the very surface of the ground, the swarth pared first away, CHAP. 
and the earth stirred a foot deep or more, they will undoubtedly succeed ; ^"^"^ 
but, in this trial, let the roots be handsomely spread, and covered a foot 
or more in height, and, above all, firmly staked. This is practicable also 
for other trees, where the soil is over moist or unkind ; for, as the Elm 
does not thrive in too dry, sandy, or hot grounds, no more will it abide 
the cold and spungy ; but loves places that are competently fertile, 
or a little elevated from these annoyances, as we see in the mounds and 
casting up of ditches, upon whose banks the female sort does more 
naturally delight. It seems to be so much more addicted to some places 
than to others, that I have frequently doubted whether it be a pure 
indigene ° or translatitious ; and not only because I have hardly ever 
known any considerable woods of them, (besides some few nurseries near 
Cambridge, planted, I suppose, for store,) but most continually in tufts, 
hedge-rows, and mounds ; and that Shropshire, and several other 
Counties, have rarely any growing in many miles together. In the mean 
time, some affirm they were first brought out of Lombardy, where indeed 
I have observed very goodly trees about the rich grounds, with Pines 
among them ; for I hear of none either in Saxony or Denmark, nor in 
France, growing wild, who all came and preyed upon us after the 
Romans. But I leave this to the learned. 

9. The Elm is, by reason of its aspiring and tapering growth, unless 
it be topped to enlarge the branches and make them spread low, the least 
offensive to corn and pasture-grounds ; to both which, and the cattle, 
it affords a benign shade, defence, and agreeable ornament ; but then, 
as to pastures, the wandering roots, (apt to infect the fields and grass 
with innumerable suckers,) and the leading mother-root, ought to be quite 
separated on that part, and the suckers eradicated : The like should 
be done where they are placed near walks of turf or gravel. 

10. It should be planted as shallow as may be ; for, as we noted, 
deep interring of roots is amongst the catholic mistakes, and this the 
greatest to which trees are obnoxious. Let new-planted Elms be kept 



° The Elm is certainly a native of this country, of which there can be no stronger proo^ 
than that there are near forty places in this kingdom which have their names from it, most 
of which are mentioned in Doomsday-book. 



128 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. moist by frequent refreshings upon some half-rotten fern, or litter, laid 
^^"^"^^ about the foot of the stem, the earth being a little stirred and depressed 
for the better reception and retention of the water. 

11. Lastly, your plantations must, above all things, be carefully 
preserved from cattle, and the concussions of impetuous winds, till they 
are out of reach of the one, and sturdy enough to encounter the other. 

12. When you lop the side-boughs of an Elm, (which may be about 
January, for the fire, and more frequently, if you desire to have them tall, 
or that you would form them into hedges, for so they may be kept 
plashed, and thickened to the highest twig, affording both a magnificent 
and august defence against the winds and sun,) I say, when you trim 
them, be careful to indulge the tops, for they protect the body of your 
trees from the wet, which always invades those parts first, and will, 
in time, perish them to the very heart ; so as Elms, beginning thus 
to decay, are not long prosperous. Sir Hugh Piatt relates, as from 
an expert carpenter, that the boughs and branches of an Elm should 
be left a foot long, next the trunk, when they are lopped : but this is to 
my certain observation, a very great mistake, either in the relator or au- 
thor ; for I have noted of many Elms, so disbranched, that the remaining 
stubs grew immediately hollow, and were as so many conduits or pipes, 
to hold and convey the rain to the very body and heart of the tree. 

13. There was a cloister of the right French Elm in the little garden 
near to her Majesty's, the Queen-mother's, chapel at Somerset-house, 
which were, I suppose, planted there by the industry of the S. F. 
Capuchines, that would have directed you to the incomparable use 
of this noble tree, for shade and delight, into whatever figure you will 
accustom them. I have myself procured some of them from Paris, but 
they were so abused in the transportation, that they all perished, save 
one, which now flourishes with me : I have also lately graffed Elms, 
to a great improvement of their heads. Virgil tells us they will join 
in marriage with the Oak p, and they would both be tried; and the success 



P Virgil is very animated in his idea of engrafting an Oak upon an Elm. He represents 
the acorns as the fruit of the marriage ; and the swine cracking them under the tree : 
" Glandemque sues fregere sub Ulmis." 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



129 



for such ligneous kinds will be the more probable, if you graff under the cHAP. IV. 
earth, upon or near the very root itself, which is likely to entertain the '^^'V^i^ 
cion better than when more exposed, till it be well fixt, and have made 
some considerable progress. 

14. When you would fell, let the sap be perfectly in repose, as it is 
commonly about November or December, even to February, after the 
frost hath well nipped them : 1 have already alleged my reason for 
it; and I am told, that both Oak and Elm so cut, the very saplings 
(whereof rafters, spars, &c. are made) will continue as long as the very 
heart of the tree, without decay. In this work, cut your kerfe near to 
the ground, but have a care that the tree suffers not in the fall, and 
be ruined with its own weight : This depends upon your woodman's 
judgment in disbranching, and is a necessary caution to the felling of all 
other timber-trees. If any begin to doat, pick out such for the axe, and 
rather trust to its successor ; and, should you cut over late, by floating 
them two or three months in the water, it prevents the worm, and proves 
the best of seasons. 

15. Elm is a timber of most singular use, especially where it may lie 
continually dry or wet, in extremes ; therefore proper for water-works, 
mills, the ladles and soles of the wheel, pipes, pumps, aqueducts, pales, 
ship-planks beneath the water-line ; and some that have been found 
buried in bogs, have turned like the most polished and hardest ebony, 
only discerned by the grain ; also for wheelwrights, handles for the 
single hand-saw, &c. Rails and gates made of Elm, thin sawed, are not 
so apt to rive as Oak ; the knotty for naves, hubs ; the straight and 
smooth for axle-trees ; and the very roots for curiously dappled works ; 
it scarce has any superior for kerbs of coppers, featheridge, and weather- 
boards, (but it does not, without difficulty, admit the nail without boring,) 
chopping-blocks, blocks for the hat-maker, trunks and boxes to be 
covered with leather, coffins, dressers and shovel-board tables of great 
length, and a lustrous colour if rightly seasoned ; also for the carver, 
by reason of the tenour of the grain, and toughness, which fits it for 
all those curious works of fruitages, foliage, shields, statues, and most 
of the ornaments appertaining to the orders of architecture, and for not 
being much subject to warping. I find that, of old, they used it even for 
hinges and hooks of doors ; but then, that part of the plank which grew 

Volume I. A a 



130 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. towards the top of the tree, was, in work, to be always reversed ; and for 
that it is not so subject to rift, Vitruvius commends it both for tenons 
and mortises : But, besides these, and sundry other employments, it 
makes also a second sort of charcoal ; and, finally, which I must not omit, 
the use of the very leaves of this tree, especially of the female, is not 
to be despised ; for, being suffered to dry in the sun upon the branches, 
and the spray stripped off about the decrease in August, as also where 
the suckers are supernumerary and hinder the thriving of their nurses, they 
will prove a great relief to cattle, in winter and in scorching summers, 
when hay and fodder is dear ; they will eat them before oats, and thrive 
exceedingly well with them ; remember only to lay your boughs up in 
some dry and sweet corner of your barn. — It was for this the poet praised 
them, and the epithet was advised : 

Fcecundas frondibus Ulmi. virg. 
Fruitful in leaves the Elra. 

In some parts of Herefordshire they gather them in sacks for their 
swine and other cattle, according to this husbandry But I hear an ill 
report of this tree for bees, that, surfeiting of the blooming seeds, they 
are obnoxious to the lask' at their first going abroad in the spring, which 



"I The Roman husbandmen fed their cattle with the leaves of trees, but the preference 
was given to those of the Elm. The English husbandman, who lives in the neighbourhood 
of extensive woods, would do well to attend to this branch of rural economy. When hay 
is dear, dried leaves (of all kinds) are highly valuable. Columella considers twenty pecks 
of dried leaves as equal to thirty pounds of hay. " Si grano abstinemus, frondis aridte 

corbis pabulatoria modiorum viginti sufficit, vel foeni pondo triginti." Lib. vi. c. 3. 

* Virgil gives a most beautiful description of this malady, so fatal to his favourite 
bees : 

But when, as human ills descend to bees. 
The pilling nation labours with disease ; 
Chang'd is their glittering hue to ghastly pale, 
Roughness and leanness o'er their limbs prevail ; 
Forth the dead citizens with grief are borne, 
In solemn state the sad attendants mourn. 
Clung by the feet they hang the live-long day 
Around the door, or in their chambers stay ; 
Hunger and cold, and grief their toils delay. 
'Tis then in hoarser tones (heir hums resound, 
Like hollow winds the rustling forest round. 




OF FOREST-TREES. 



131 



endangers whole stocks, if remedies be not timely adhibited ; therefore, CHAP. IV. 
it is saidj in great Elm countries they do not thrive ; but the truth ^-^"V^^ 
of which I am yet to learn. The green leaf of the Elm, contused, 
heals a green wound or cut, and, boiled with the bark, consolidates 
fractured bones. All the parts of this tree are abstersive, and therefore 
sovereign for the consolidating of wounds ; they assuage the pains of 
the gout ; and the bark, decocted in common water, to almost the 
consistence of a syrup, adding a third part of aqua vitse, is a most 
admirable remedy for the ischiadica, or hip-pain, the place being well 
rubbed and chafed by the fire. For other wonderful cures performed 
by the liquor, &cc. of this tree, see Mr. Ray's History of Plants, vol. ii. 
lib. XXV. cap. i. sect. 5. And for other species of the Elm, consult his 
Supplement. 



Or billows breaking on a distant shore ; 
Or flames in furnaces that inly roar. 
Galbanean odours here I shall advise ; 
And thro' a reed to pour the sweet supplies 
Of golden honey to invite the taste 
Of the sick nation^ to their known repast : 
Bruis'd galls, dry'd roses, thyme, and centaury join. 
And raisins ripen'd on the Psithian vine. 
Besides, in meads the plant Amellus grows, 
And from one root thick stalks profusely throws. 
Which easily the wand'ring simpler knows : 
Its top a flower of golden hue displays. 
Its leaves are edg'd with violet-tinctur'd rays : 
Eough is the taste; round many a holy shrine 
The sacred priests its beauteous foliage twine : 
This, where meand'ring Mella laves the plains. 
Or, in the new-shorn valley, seek the swains : 
Its roots infuse in wine, and at their door 
In baskets hang the medicated store. wartok. 



A a 2 



132 



A DISCOURSE 



CHAPTER V. 



The BEECH\ 

BOOK I. 1. FaGUS, the BEECH. I rank this before the martial Ash, because 
it commonly grows to a greater stature. It is of two or three kinds, and 
is numbered among the glandiferous trees. But here I may not omit a 

* The Beech is a beautiful as well as a valuable tree. The leaves are of a pleasant 
green, and many of them remain on the branches during the winter, when they present 
themselves of a brown colour ; for this reason this tree is proper to shelter habitations, 
and such places as require to be screened from violent winds. It may be planted either in 
woods or open fields, in both which stations it grows to a considerable height, and carries 
with it a proportionable trunk. In hedge-rows and the borders of fields it spreads its 
branches to an amazing extent. Of this genus there are three species. 

1. FAGUS (SYLVATJCA ) foliis ovatis obsolete serratis. Sp. Plant. 1416. Fagus. Bauh. 
Pin. 1419. The beech tree. 

This is the common Beech, of which the buds begin to open about the 15th of April, and the 
leaves come out about the 21st. The flowers show themselves about the 12th of May, and 
by the 4th of June they are in full bloom. These are succeeded by the mast, an angular fruit, 
which is ripe in the autumn. 

2. FAGUS CcASTANEA ) foliis lanceolatis acuminato-serratis subtus nudis. Lin. Sp. 
PI. 1416. Castanea Sativa. Bauh. Pin. 418. The chestnut. 

This is the Spanish Chestnut which is particularly described in book i. ch. viii. 

3. FAGUS Cpvmila ) foliis lanceolato-ovatis acute serratis subtus tomentosis, amends 
filiformibus nodosis. Gron. Virg. 150. Castanea Pumila Virginiana, racemoso fructu 
parvo in singulis capsulis echinatis unico. Pluk. Aim. 90. Catesb. Car. i. p. 9' The 

CHINQUAPIN. 

This species is called the Dwarf Chestnut, and grows to the height of ten feet. The stem is 
of a brown colour, and divides into several branches near the top. The leaves, as described, 
are of an oval, spear-shaped figure, acutely serrated, with an hoary cast on their underside. 
The flowers come out in the spring in slender knotted catkins. They are of a greenish co- 
lour, and are rarely succeeded by ripe seeds in this country. This kind is very hardy, and 
thrives in a moist soil and shady situation. 

The Beech, in the Linnaean system, is ranked in the class and order Monoecia Polyandria, 
wliich comprehends such plants as have male and female flowers upon the same plant, the 
male flowers having numerous stamina. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



133 



note of the accurate critic Palmerius, upon a passage in Theophrastus, CHAP 
where he animadverts upon his interpreter, and shows that the ancient 
^yiyof, was by no means the Beech, but a kind of Oak ; for that the figure 
of the fruit is so widely unUke it, that being round, this triangular : And 



This tree is propagated by sowing the mast in the seminary, and afterwards transplanting 
the seedlings into the nursery ; for which consult the directions given in the notes upon 
page 42. 

When these trees are designed for standards in fields, parks, &c. they must be permitted 
to grow in the nursery till they are of a proper size, when they should be carefully taken 
up, and planted in the same manner as formerly directed for the Elm. — When intended 
for woods, the ground must be prepared as for the Wych Elm ; they should be planted at 
the same distance, of the same size, and thinned in the same manner. 

The Beech naturally delights in a chalky or stony ground, and the bark, upon such 
land, is clear and smooth ; a certain indication that the soil suits the tree. And although this 
timber is not so valuable as many other kinds, yet as it will thrive in soils and situations 
where few other trees will grow, the propagation of it should be encouraged. Besides this 
good quality, it is known to afford an agreeable shade ; the leaves make a fine appearance 
in summer, and continue as late in autumn as any of the deciduous kinds. 

When planted upon stony or chalky mountains, the Beech will resist the winds better 
than most other trees, but then the plants should be taken from a nursery of a similar soil ; 
for if they are raised upon rich land and in a warm exposure, and afterwards carried to a 
bleak situation and barren soil, they will seldom thrive : And this rule is supposed by some 
planters to hold good in most other trees, contrary to the practice of all Nurserymen, who 
constantly raise their foregt-trees upon good land. However, let this be remarked, that 
the best-rooted plants are always produced upon the best land — and in all kinds of plant- 
ing, a good root is an essential consideration. Upon the whole, the best and least expen- 
sive method is to raise plantations of this tree by sowing the mast where the plants are to 
remain, agreeable to the general idea given in chap. iii. book i. When raised in this 
manner, they will not sustain the inconveniences arising from the change of soil and situa- 
tion. In Berkshire, the Beech- woods are exceedingly well managed, by continually clear- 
ing away the beech-stems, from eight down to three or four inches girt, where they stand 
too thick, or appear unhealthy. The best trees are sold to coachmakers, wheelwrights, 
and farmers, at sevenpence per foot; the others are generally cut up into billets, and 
faggots for the bakers in the country ; and great quantities are sent down to London for 
the bakers there, as well as for packing in the holds of ships. The woodman marks the 
bUlets according to their size, with one, two, or three notches, which are considered as so 
many farthings worth, when the billets are sold ; and, by this means, he is enabled to ascer- 
tain not only the value of the wood cut up, but pays his workmen accordingly, at the rate of 
sixpence for every 255 notches, which is called a load. Those who take care of their 
woodlands, permit their laboui'ers, during the winter months, to take up the old roots from 
which no shoot is rising, on condition that the workmen plant new sets, in a proper manner. 
By this judicious practice a constant succession is kept up at no expense. 



134 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. both Theophrastus and Pausanias make it indeed a species of Oak, as 
"^^^f^^ already we have noted in chap. iii. wholly differing in trunk, as well as 
fruit and leaf ; to which he adds^ (what determines the controversy,) 
^vUv T^? yeya ia-x"okaiov v.ai aarjirei-ahy ; " that it is of a firmer timber and not 



Virgil feelingly describes the cooling shade of the Beech, in well-known verses. 
Tityre, tu patulae recubans sub tegmine fagi, 

Sylvestrem tenui Musam meditaris avena. ecl. i. I.l. 

Tantum inter densas, umbrosa cacuniina, fagos 

Assidue veniebat. — — ecl. ii. 1.3. 

The ancient shepherds frequently carved their love verses upon the green bark of this tree, 
which was no bad substitute for the Egyptian papyrus. 

Imtno hsec, in viridi nuper quae cortice fagi 
Carmina descripsi, et modulans alterna notavi, 

Experiar. ecl. v. 1.13. 

They also wrote upon the bark of the living tree, and as the letters must have been of a 
large size, and cut deep, we may reasonably suppose that they seldom went much farther 
than the name of their mistress, with a few tender epithets : 

Certum est in Syivis, inter spelaea ferarum, 
Malle pati, tenerisque meos incidere amores 

Arboribus : crescent iWx, crescetis amores. ecl. x. 1.52. 

The same beautiful thought is preserved in the epistle of CEnone to Paris : 

Incisa; servant a te mea nomina fagi : 

Et legor CEnone fake notata tua. 

Et quantum trunci, tantum mea nomina crescuiit: 

Crescite, et in titulos surgite recta meos. ovid. 

This custom of carving favourite names upon the bark of trees, seems to have derived 
its origin from the simplicity of nature, and consequently must have been common to all 
ages. Shakspeare says, " A man haunts the forest that abuses our young trees with carving 
" Rosalind upon their bark." 

Beechen bowls, curiously carved, were much prized by the ancient shepherds. Menaltas, 
in his dispute with Damaetas, speaks highly in praise of his two beechen bowls, considering 
them as superior in value to Damsetas's young cow : 



-pocula ponam 



Fagina, ca;latum divini opus Alcimedontis. ecl. iii. 1. 36. 

Pliny relates that beechen vessels were employed in religious ceremonies ; but in general 
they were considered as the furniture of the meanest people : 

Terra rubens crater, pocula fagus erant. ovid. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



135 



obnoxious to the worm neither of which can so confidently be said of cHAP. 
the Beech : Yet La Cerda, too, seems guilty of the same mistake. But^ ^"^"^ 
leaving this, there are of our Fagi two or three kinds, viz. the Mountain, 
where it most affects to grow, which is the whitest, and most sought 
after by the turner ; and the Campestrial, or wild, which is of a blacker 
colour, and more durable. They are both to be raised from the mast, 
and governed like the Oak, of which amply ; and that is absolutely the 
best way of furnishing a wood ; unless you will make a Nursery, and 
then you are to treat the mast as you are instructed in the chapter of 
Ashes, sowing them in autumn, or later, even after January, or rather nearer 
the spring, to preserve them from vermine, which are very great devourers 
of them. But they are likewise to be planted of young seedlings, to be 
drawn out of the places where the fruitful trees abound. In transplanting 
them, cut off only the boughs and bruised parts two inches from the stem 
to within a yard of the top, but be very sparing of the root ; this for 
such as are of pretty stature. They make spreading trees, and noble 
shades with their well-furnished and glistering leaves, being set at forty 
feet distance ; but they grow taller and more upright in the forests, where 
I have beheld them, at eight and ten feet, shoot into very long- poles ; 
but neither so apt for timber nor fuel. The shade unpropitious to corn 
and grass, but sweet, and, of all the rest, most refreshing to the weary 
shepherd — lentus in Umbra — echoing Amaryllis with his oaten pipe. 
Mabillon tells us, in his Itinerary, of the old Beech at Villambrosa to be 
still flourishing, and greener than any of the rest, under whose umbrage 
the famous Eremit Gaulbertus had his cell. 

This tree, planted in palisade, affords an useful and pleasant screen 
to shelter orange and other tender case-trees from the parching- sun, &c. 
growing very tall, and little inferior to the Horn-beam, or Dutch Elm. 
In the valleys, where they stand warm and in consort, they will grow 
to a stupendous procerity, though the soil be stony and very barren ; ^ 
also upon the declivities, sides, and tops of high hills, and chalky 
mountains especially : for, though they thrust not down such deep and 
numerous roots as the Oak, and grow to vast trees, they will strangely 
insinuate their roots into the bowels of those seemingly impenetrable 
places, not much unlike the Fir itself^ which, with this so common tree, 
the great Caesar denies to be found in Britain, " materia cujusque generis, 
" ut in Gallia, prceter Fagum et Ahietem ;" but certainly from a grand 



136 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. mistake, or rather, for that he had not travelled much up into the country'. 
'^^''^'^^ Virgil reports it will graff with the chestnut. 

2. The Beech serves for various uses of the housewife. 

Hinc olim juvenis tnundi melioribus annis, 
Fortunatarum domuum non magna supellex 
Tota petebatur ; sellas, armaria, lectos, 

Et mensas dabat, et lances, et pocula Fagus. couleius. 

Hence, in the world's best years, the humble shed 
Was happily and fully furnished : 

Beech made their chests, their beds, and the join'd-stools : 
Beech made the board, the platters, and the bowls. 

With it the turner makes dishes, trays, rims for buckets, trenchers, dresser 
boards, and other utensils. It setves the wheeler and joiner, for large 
screws, &c. the upholsterer uses it for sellies, chairs, bed-steads, &c. 
It makes shovels and spade-graffs for the husbandman, and is useful to 
the bellows-maker. Floats for fishers' nets, instead of corks, are made 
of its bark. It is good for fuel, billet, bavin, and coals, though one 
of the least lasting ; and its very shavings are good for fining of wine. 
Peter Crescentius writes, that the ashes of Beech, with proper mixture, 
is excellent to make glass with. If the timber lie altogether under water, 
it islittleinferiorto Elm, asl find it is practised and asserted by shipwrights. 
Of old they made their Vasa Vindemiatoria and Corbes Messorige, as 
we our pots for strawberries, with the rind of this tree ; nay, and 
vessels to preserve wine in; and that curiously wrought cup, which the 
shepherd, in the Bucolicks, wagers withal, was engraven by Alcimedon 
upon the bark of the Beech. And an happy age it seems : 



' From the authority of ancient times, and from the evidence of our own eyes, we must 
suppose the Fir to be a native of this country. The quantity of this kind of ^ood, dis- 
covered in many bogs of this island, leaves the matter beyond a doubt : But, with regard 
to what Caesar says of the Beech, the argument against him is not so conclusive. The 
ingenious Mr. Hasted, in the 19th number of the 6lst vol. of Phil. Trans, speaking of 
Caesar's observation, says, " both of which (the Fir and Beech) were in the greatest plenty 
" here at that very time ; the latter was particulai'ly so in the county of Kent, the only 
"place he might be said to be acquainted with." But for this Mr. Hasted quotes no 
authorities. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



137 



_ . Nec bella fuerunt, CHAP. 

Faginus abstabat cum scyphus ante dapes. tibul. V^^y^ 

No wars did men molest. 

When only beechen bowls were in request. 

Of the thin lamina, or scale of this wood, as our cutlers call it, are made 
scabbards for swords, and band-boxes, superinduced with thin leather 
or paper ; boxes for writings, hat-cases, and formerly book-covers. 
I wonder we cannot split it ourselves, but send it into other countries 
for such trifles. In the cavities of these trees bees much delight to hive 
themselves. Yet for all this, you would not wonder to hear me deplore 
the so frequent use of this wood, if you did consider that the industry 
of France furnishes that country for all domestic utensils with excellent 
Walnut, a material infinitely preferable to the best Beech, which is indeed 
good only for shade, and for the fire, as being brittle, and exceedingly 
obnoxious to the worm, where it lies either dry, or wet and dry, as has 
been noted ; but, being put ten days in water, it will exceedingly resist 
the worm. To which, as I said, it is so obnoxious, that I wish the use 
of it were, by a law, prohibited all joiners, cabinet-makers, and such 
as furnish tables, chairs, bedsteads, coffers, screws, &c. They have 
a way to black and polish it, so as to render it like Ebony ; and, with 
a mixture of soot and urine, imitate the Walnut ; but as the colour does 
not last, so neither does the wood itself, for I can hardly call it timber, 
soon after the worm has seized it, unless one spunge and imbibe it well 
with the oil of spike, where they have made holes. Ricciolus, indeed, 
much commends it for oars : and some say, that the vast Argo was built 
of the Fagus, a good part of it at least, as we learn out of ApoUonius : 
This will admit of interpretation. The Fagus yet, by Claudian, is men- 
tioned with the Alder : 

Sic qui vecturam longinqua per aequora merces 
Molitur tellure ratem, vitamque procellis 
Objectare parat ; Fagos metitur et Alnos, 
Et variam rudibus silvis accommodat usum. 

So he that to export o'er sea his wares, 
A vessel builds, and to expose, prepares 
His life to storms, first Beech and Alder cuts ; 
And measuring them, to various uses puts. 
Volume I. B b 



138 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. But, whilst we thus condemn the timber, we must not omit to praise the 
"^^^''^^ mast, which fatten our swine and deer ; and hath, in some famiUes, even 
supported men with bread. Chios endured a memorable siege by the 
benefit of this mast. And, in some parts of France, they now grind 
the buck in mills ; it affords a sweet oil^ which the poor people eat most 
willingly. But there is yet another benefit which this tree presents 
us ; its very leaves, which make a natural and most agreeable canopy 
all the summer, being gathered about the fall, and somewhat before they 
are much frost-bitten, afford the best and easiest mattresses in the world 
to lay under our quilts instead of straw ; because, besides their tenderness 
and loose lying together, they continue sweet for seven or eight years 
long, before which time straw becomes musty and hard : They are thus 
used by divers persons of quality in Dauphiny; and, in Switzerland, I have 
sometimes lain on them to my great refreshment : So as, of this tree, it 
may properly be said, 

— — Silva domus, cubilia frondes. juvenal. 
The wood's an house, the leaves a bed. 

Being pruned, it heals the scar immediately, and is not apt to put forth 
so soon again as other trees. 

The stagnate water in the hollow trees cures the most obstinate tetters, 
scabs and scurfs in man or beast, fomenting the part with it. The leaves 
chewed, are wholesome for the gums and teeth ; and the very buds 
as they are in winter hardened and dried upon the twigs, make good 
tooth-pickers. Swine may be driven to mast about the end of August, 
but it is observed, that, when they feed on it before it be mature, 
it intoxicates them for a while ; and that, generally, their fat is not 
so good or solid, but drips away too soon. In the mean time the kernels 
of the mast are greedily devoured by squirrels, mice, and, above all, by 
dormice, who, harbouring in the hollow trees, grow so fat, that, in some 
countries abroad, they take infinite numbers of them ; I suppose, to eat : 
and what relief they give to thrushes, blackbirds, fieldfares, and other 
birds, every body knows. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



139 



CHAPTER VI. 

The HORN-BE AM\ 

1 O STRYS, the HORN-BEAM. This, by some, is called the Horse- cHAP. VI. 
beech, from the resemblance of the leaf ; and in Latin is named Carpinus. 
It is planted off sets, though it may likewise be raised from the seeds, 
which, being mature in August, should be sown in October ; these 
lie a year in the bed, which must be well and carefully shaded so soon 
as they peep. But the more expeditious way is by layers or sets of about 
an inch diameter, and cut within half a foot of the earth : Thus it will 
advance to a considerable tree. The places it chiefly desires to grow 

" Of this GENUS there are only two species. 

1. CARPINUS (betulus) squamis strobilorum planis. Lin. Sp. PI. 14l6. Horn-beam with 
jiat scales to the cones. Carpinus Dod. Pemp. 841. Common horn-beam. 

This sort is very common in many parts of England, but is rarely suffered to grow as a timber- 
tree, being generally pollarded by tlie country people; yet, where the young trees have been 
properly treated, they have grown to a large size. Mr. Miller mentions his having seen 
some of them in woods, upon a cold, stiff clay, that were near seventy feet in height, with 
large noble stems, perfectly straight and sound. Of late years, this has only been considered 
as a shrub, and seldom cultivated, but for under- wood in the country, and for hedges in the 
nurseries, after the French taste ; for in most of their great gardens, their Cabinets, &c. are formed 
of these trees, as are their trellisses and hedges which surround their plantations. But, since 
these ornaments have been banished from the English gardens, there has been little demand 
for this tree. As the Horn-beam will thrive upon cold, barren, and exposed hills, and in 
such situations where few other trees will grow, it may be cultivated to advantage by the 
proprietors of such lands. It will resist the violence of winds better than most other trees, 
and is by no means slow in its growth. But where it is propagated for timber, it should be 
raised from seeds, upon the same soil, and in the same situation where it is designed to grow ; 
and not be brought from very rich land, and a warm exposure. The seeds should be sown 
in the autumn, soon after they are ripe ; for, if they are kept out of the ground till the spring, 
the plants will not come up till the following year. When the plants appear, they must 
be kept clear from weeds, and treated as other forest-trees. In two years they will be iit to 
transplant; for the sooner all trees that are designed for timber are planted where they are 
to remain, the larger they will grow, and the wood will be firmer and more durable. When 
these are not intermixed with other trees, they should be planted close, especially on the 
outside of the plantations, that they may protect and draw each other up ; and if they 
are kept clean from weeds three or four years, it will greatly promote tiieir growth ; after 
which the plants will need no further assistance in that particular. As the trees advance in 

Bb3 



140 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. in» are cold hills, stiff ground, and the barren and most exposed parts 
of woods. We have it no where more abounding, in the south, than 
in the woods of Hertfordshire ; very few westward. 

2. Amongst other uses, it serves for mill-cogs, for which it excels either 
Yew or Crab ; it makes good yoke-timber, whence of old, and that it was 



growth, they should be thinned, which must be done with caution, cutting away the most 
unpromising plants gradually, so as not to let in too much cold air at once upon those that 
are left, especially on the borders of the plantation. For, in all young plantations of timber, 
it is much better to take away a few trees every year, than, as is too often practised, to per- 
mit all to grow till they are fit to be cut as under-wood, when a few trees are left for timber. 
By this injudicious practice, so much cold air is suddenly let in upon the limber-trees, that 
their growth is retarded for some years. The leaves of the Horn-beam remain upon the 
branches till the young buds push them off in spring, which renders them proper to 
plant round the borders of other plantations in exposed situations; where they will defend 
the other trees in winter, and thereby promote their growth. 

2. CARPINUS (osTRYA) squamis strobilorum inflatis. Lin. Sp. PI. l-iiy. Horn-beam with 
inflated scales to the co?ies. Ostrya ulmo similis, fructu racemose lupulo simili. Bauh. Pin. 427. 
The hop horn-beam. 

This kind sheds its leaves in winter, with the Elm, and other deciduous trees : Though but 
lately known in this country, it is very common in Gerinany, growing promiscuously with 
the common sort. The hop Horn-beam is of quicker growth than the common kind, but 
the goodness of the timber is not yet known, there being but few of these trees growing in 
England upon their own roots, most of tliem having been grafted upon the common Horn- 
beam, the usual method of propagating them in our nurseries. But the trees so raised are of 
short duration ; for the graft generally grows much faster than the stock, so that in a few 
years there is great disproportion in their size; and where they happen to stand exposed 
to strong winds, the graft is frequently broken from the stock, after many years gro^vth. 
The two following are only varieties: 

1. CARPINUS CoRiF.NTALisJ foliis ovato-lanceolatis serratis strobilis brevibus. Horn-beam 
tvith oval, spear-shaped, sawed leaves, and the shortest cones. Carpinus orientalis folio minori, 
■fructu brevi. T. Cor. 40. Eastern horn-beam, with a smaller leaf and shorter frvit. 

This tree is of humble growth, rarely rising, in this country, above ten or twelve feet in height. 
As it shoots out many horizontal irregular branches, it cannot be trained up to a stem. The 
leaves are much smaller than those of the common Horn-beam, and the branches grow closer 
together, which qualifies it for low hedges, where such are wanted in gardens. Being a very 
tonsile plant, it may be kept in less compass than almost any deciduous tree. It is as hardy 
as any of the other sorts ; but, at present, it is rare in our nurseries. 

2. CARPINUS (firginiana J foliis lanceolatis acuminatis, strobilis longissirais. Horn- 
beam with pointed, spear-shaped leaves, and the longest cones. Carpinus ^'■irgi^iana florescens. 
Pluk. Virginian flowering horn-beam. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



141 



as well flexible as tough, it was called r^vyia., heads of beetles, stocks and CHAP. VI. 
handles of tools are made of it. It is likewise for the turner's use excel- ^'■^^^^ 
lent. It makes good fire-wood, where it burns like a candle ; and was of 
old so employed : 

Carpinus tsedas fissa facesque dabit. 



This sort grows to the height of thirty feet, and is of quick growth. It sheds its leaves in 
autumn, about the same time with the Elm. During the time of its verdure, it maices a good 
appearance, being clothed with leaves of a deep green colour, resembling the long-leaved 
Elm more than the Horn-beam. 

The Horn-beam, in the Linnaean system, is ranked in the class and order Monoecia 
Polyandria, which comprehends such plants as have male and female flowers on the same 
plant, the male flowers having numerous stamina. The leaves begin to open about the 
latter end of March, and are quite out by the middle of April ; and the flowers are in full 
bloom towards the end of that month. 

The common Horn-beam is raised from seeds, as already observed, but the other kinds 
are propagated by layers, for which purpose a few plants should be procured for stools ; 
those, for the Eastern Horn-beam, should be planted a yard asunder, and the others 
about two yards. After the plants have made some young shoots, they should be layered 
in the autumn, and by that time twelve months they will have struck root ; at which time, 
or early in the spring, they should be taken off and planted in the nursery, observing to 
brush up the stools, that they may afford young shoots to be layered the succeeding 
autumn. 

In Westphalia, and other parts of North Germany, the Horn-beam is in great repute. 
There they make a hedge of it which answers Columella's description of a good fence : 

______ Neu sit pecori, neu pervia furi. de hort. 

When the German husbandman erects a fence of Horn-beam, he throws up a parapet of 
earth, with a ditch on each side, and plants his sets (raised from layers) in such a manner, 
as that every two plants may be brought to intersect each other in the form of a St. An- 
drew's cross. In that part where the two plants cross each other, he scrapes off the bark, 
and binds them closely together with straw. In consequence of this operation, the two 
plants consolidate in a sort of indissoluble knot, and push from thence horizontal, slanting 
shoots, which form a living palisado, or chevaux de frize ; so that such a protection may be 
called a rural fortification. These hedges, being pruned annually, and with discretion, 
will, in a few years, render the fence impenetrable in every part. It is not uncommon in 
Germany to see the sides of high roads thus guai'ded for many miles together ; and it were 
to be wished that this example was followed in some places of this kingdom. I am the 
more inclined to recommend such hedges, as the Horn-beam is not delicate in point of 
soil, but will even thrive on land seemingly barren. When properly pruned, it will put 
out strong lateral shoots, within three inches of the ground, by which means it makes an 
impenetrable fence against cattle. It is also of quick growth ; a thing of great consequence 
in the improvement of waste land. 



142 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. Being planted in small fosses or trenches, at half a foot interval, and in 
'^'^^^'^^ the single row, it makes the noblest and stateliest hedge for long walks in 
gardens or parks, of any tree whatsoever, whose leaves are deciduous, and 
forsake their branches in winter, because it grows tall, and so sturdy, as not 
to be wronged by the winds ; besides, it will furnish to the very foot of the 
stem, and flourishes with a glossy and polished verdure, which is exceed- 
ingly delightful, of long continuance, and, of all other, (the harder woods,) 
the speediest grower, maintaining a slender upright stem, which does 
not come to be bare and sticky in many years. It has yet this (shall I 
call it) infirmity, that, keeping on its leaves till new ones thrust them off, 
it is clad in russet all the winter long. That admirable espalier hedge in 
the long middle walk of the Luxembourg Garden at Paris, than which 
there is nothing more graceful, is planted of this tree ; and so is that 
cradle, or close walk, with that perplexed canopy which lately covered the 
seat in his Majesty's garden at Hampton-Court; and, as now I hear, 
they are planted in perfection at New-park, the delicious villa of the 
noble earl of Rochester, belonging once to a near kinsman of mine, who 
parted with it to King Charles the First of blessed memory. These 
hedges are tonsile ; but, where they are maintained to fifteen or twenty 
feet height, which is very frequent in the places before mentioned, they 
are to be cut, and kept in order with a sithe of four feet long, and very 
little falcated ; this is fixed on a long sneed, or straight handle, and does 
wonderfully expedite the trimming of these and the like hedges. An 
oblong square, palisadoed with this plant, or the Flemish Ornus, as is 
that I am going to describe, and may be seen in that inexhaustible ma- 
gazine at Brompton-park, (cultivated by those two industrious fellow- 
sardeners, Mr. London and Mr. Wise,) affords such an umhraculum 
frondium, the most natural, proper station, and convenience for the pro- 
tection of our Orange-trees, Myrtles, and other rare Perennials and 
Exotics, from the scorching darts of the sun, and heat of summer ; 
placing the cases, pots, &c. under this shelter, when either at their first 
peeping out of the winter conclave, or during the increasing heat of the 
summer, they are so ranged and disposed, as to adorn a noble area of a 
most magnificent paradisian dining-room, to the top of Hortulan pomp 
and bliss, superior to all the artificial furniture of the greatest prince's 
court. Here the Indian Narcissus, Tuberoses, Japan Lilies, Jasmines, 
Jonquills, Periclimena, Roses, Carnations, with all the pride of the par- 
terre, intermixt between the tree-cases, flowery vases, busts, and statues, 



OF FOREST-TREES. 143 

entertain the eye, and breathe their redolent odours and perfumes to the CHAP. VI. 
smell. The golden fruit, the apples of the Hesperides, together with ^"■^V^^^ 
the delicious Ananas, gratify the taste, whilst the cheerful ditties of 
canorous birds recording their innocent amours to the murmurs of the 
bubbling fountain, delight the ear. At the same time the charming ac- 
cents of the fair and virtuous sex, preferable to all the admired composures 
of the most skilful musicians, join in concert with hymns and hallelujahs 
to the bountiful and glorious Creator, who has left none of the senses 
which he has not gratified at once with their most agreeable and proper 
objects. 

But, to return to Brompton: It is not to be imagined what a surprising 
scene such a spacious saloon, tapestried with the natural verdure of the 
glittering foliage, presents the spectator, and recompenses the toil of the 
ingenious planter ; when, after a little patience, he finds the slender 
plants (set but at five or six feet distance, nor much more in height, well 
pruned and dressed) ascend to an altitude sufficient to shade and defend 
his paradisian treasure, without excluding the milder gleams of the glo- 
rious and radiant planet, with his cherishing influence and kindly warmth, 
to all within the inclosure — refreshed with the cooling and early dew, 
pregnant with the sweet exhalations, which the indulgent mother and 
teeming earth sends up to nourish and maintain her numerous and tender 
oflfspring. 

But, after all, let us not dwell here too long, whilst the inferences to 
be derived from those tempting and temporary objects, prompt us to raise 
our contemplations a little on objects yet more worthy our noblest spe- 
culations, and all our pains and curiosity, representing that happy state 
above, namely, the celestial paradise : Let us, I say, suspend our admi- 
ration a while of these terrestrial gaieties, which are of so short continu- 
ance, and raise our thoughts from being too deeply immersed and rooted 
in them, aspiring after those supernal, more lasting, and glorious abodes, 
namely, a paradise, not like this of ours, with so much pains and curiosity, 
made with hands, but eternal in the heavens, where all the trees are 
trees of life, the flowers all Amaranths ; all the plants perennial, ever 
verdant, ever pregnant ; and where those who desire knowledge may 
fully satiate themselves ; taste freely of the fruit of that tree which cost 
the first gardener, and posterity, so dear ; and where the most voluptuous 



144 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOKL inclinations to the allurements of the senses may take and eat, and still 



mnocent: no forbidden fruit; no serpent to deceive; none to be 



Hail ! O hail then, and welcome you blessed Elysiums, where a new 
state of things expects us ; where all the pompous and charming delights 
that detain us here a while, shall be changed into real and substantial 
fruitions, eternal springs, and pleasure intellectual, becoming the dignity 
of our nature ! 

I beg no pardon for the application, but deplore my no better use of 
it ; and that, whilst I am thus upon the wing, I must now descend so 
soon again. 

Of all the foresters, the Horn-beam preserves itself best from the brut- 
ting of deer, and therefore to be kindly entertained in parks. But the 
reason why, with us, we rarely find it ample and spreading, is, that our 
husbandman suffers too large and grown a lop before he cuts them off, 
which leaves such ghastly wounds as often prove exitial to the tree, or 
cause it to grow deformed and hollow, and of little worth but for the 
fire ; whereas, were they oftener taken off when the lops were younger, 
though they did not furnish so great wood, yet the continuance and 
flourishing of the tree would more than recompense it. 

3. They very frequently plant a clump of these trees before the entries 
of most of the great towns in Germany, to which they apply timber- 
frames for convenience of the people to sit and solace in. Scamozzi, the 
architect, says, " That in his time he found one whose branches extended 
seventy feet in breadth ;" this was at Vuimfen, near the Necker, belong- 
ing to the Duke of Wirtemberg ; but that which I find planted before the 
gates of Strasburgh, is a Platanus and a Lime-tree growing hard by one 
another, in which is erected a Pergula of fifty feet wide, and eight feet 
from the ground, having ten arches of twelve feet height, all shaded 
with their foliage ; besides this, there is an over-grown Oak, which has 
an arbour in it of sixty feet diameter. 




deceived. 



\ 



\ 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



145 



CHAPTER VIL 



The ASH\ 



1. FrAXINUS, the ASH. This tree with 



us is reputed male and CHAP. VII. 




female, the one affecting the higher grounds, the other the plains, 
of a whiter wood, and rising many times to a prodigious stature, so 
as in forty years from the key, an Ash hath been sold for thirty pounds 
sterling. And I have been credibly informed, that one person hath 



^ Of this GENUS there are only three species. 

1. FRAXINUS ( lixcEhsioR) foliolis serratis, floribus apetalis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1509. — 
Ash-tree whose smaller leaves are serrated, and Jlowers having no petals. Fraxinus excelsior. 
C. B. P. 41 6. Thk common ash. 

This is the common Ash-tree which grows naturally in most parts of England, and is so well 
known as to need no description. The leaves of this sort have generally five pair of lobes, 
and are terminated by an odd one ; they are of a very dark green, and their edges are 
slightly sawed. The flowers are produced in loose spikes from- the side of the branches, and 
are succeeded by flat seeds, which ripen in Autumn : There is a variety with variegated 
leaves, which is preserved in some gardens. 

2. FRAXINUS CoRNusJ foliolis serratis, floribus corollatis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1510. — 
Ash-tree whose smaller leaves are sawed, and Jlowers having petals. Fraxinus humilior sive 
altera Theophrasti, minora et tenuiore folio. C. B. P. 41 6. Dwarf Ash of Theophrastus, 
with smaller and narrower leaves. The flowering ash. 

This is a low tree, seldom rising above twenty feet in height. The leaves are smaller and 
narrower than those of the common Ash. They are of a pleasant green, and more deeply 
serrated. From this tree is collected the inspissated juice called manna. The flowers have 
petals, which are wanting in the common Ash. 

3. FRAXINUS f ^MERic^N^^ foliolis integerrimis, petiolis teretibus. Lin. Sp. PI. 1510. 
Ash-tree with the small leaves entire, and taper footstalks. Fraxinus ex Nova Anglia pinnis 
foliorum in mucronera productioribus. Rand. Cat. Hort. Chels. New England Ash with 
long acute points to ike wings of the leaves. The American ash. 

This was raised from seeds, which were sent from New England in the year 1724, by 
Mr. Moore. The leaves of this tree have but three, or at most but four pair of lobes, 
(or small leaves,) which are placed far distant from each other, and are terminated by an odd 
lobe, -which runs out into a very long point ; they are of a light green and entire, having 
no serratures on their edges. This tree shoots into strong irregular branches, but does not 
grow to a large size in the trunk. It is propagated by grafting, or budding, upon the 
common Ash. Of this species there are two or three varieties. 



Volume I. 



C c 



146 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. planted so much of this one sort of timber in his life-time, as hath 
^^'^'^^^ been valued worth fifty thousand pounds to be bought. These are 
pretty encouragements for a small and pleasant industry. That there 
is a lower and more knotty sort, every husbandman can distinguish. 

The keys, or tongues, being gathered from a young thriving tree when 
they begin to fall, (which is about the end of October, and the ensuing 
month,) are to be laid to dry, and then sowed any time betwixt that and 
Christmas ; but not altogether so deep as your former masts. Thus they 
do in Spain, from whence it were good to procure some of the keys from 
their best trees. A very narrow seminary will be sufficient to store 
a whole country ; they will lie a full year in the ground before they 
appear, therefore you must carefully fence them all that time, and have 
patience ; but if you would make a considerable wood of them at once, 
dig or plough a parcel of ground, as you would prepare it for corn, and 



This GENUS of plants, in the Linnsean system, is ranked in the class and order Polygamia 
Dioecia, the polygamy being upon two distinct plants. 

The flowers of the Ash begin to open about the sixteenth of April, and about the twenty- 
second they are in full blow. The leaves, also, of some of these trees growing in favourable 
situations, will, by this time, be out; though others will not show their foliage till the 
middle of May. 

The common Ash is easily propagated from the keys, for which consult the directions 
given in p. 42. The foreign kinds may also be raised from seeds, when they can 
be procured from abroad : Budding, however, is the general method ; so that those who 
have not a correspondence in the countries where they grow naturally, should procure 
a plant or two of a sort, and should raise young Ashes of the common sort for stocks. — 
These stocks should be planted out in the nursery, a foot asunder, and two feet distant 
in the rows. When they are one year old, and grown to be about the thickness of a bean- 
straw, they will be of a proper size for working. A little after Midsummer is the time 
for the operation ; and care must be observed not to bind the eye too tight. They need 
not be unloosed before the latter end of September. In March, the head of the stock 
should be taken off a little above the eye ; and, by tlie end of the summer following, if the 
land be good, they will have made strong shoots. It is in this manner only that the 
variegated kinds can be increased ; for their keys, when sown, invariably produce the 
common green-leaved Ash in return. 

The timber of the Ash (the Oak only excepted) serves for the greatest variety of uses 
of any tree in the forest. Though a handsome tree, it ought by no means to be planted 
for ornament in places designed to be kept neat, because the leaves fall off, with their 
long stalks, very early in the autumn, and by their litter destroy the beauty of such places. 
\ Although this tree should not be planted near gravel-walks and pleasure grounds, it is well 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



147 



with the corn, especially oats, (or what other grain you think fittest,) sow CHAP. VII. 
also good store of keys, some Crab-kernels, &c. amongst them. Take ^"^"V^^ 
off your crop of corn or seed in its season, and the next year following 
it will be covered with young Ashes, which will be fit either to stand, 
which I prefer, or be transplanted for divers years after ; and these you 
will find to be far better than any you can gather out of the woods (espe- 
cially suckers which are worth nothing) being removed at one foot stature, ^ ■ 
the sooner the better ; for Ashes of two years thus taken out of the nursery, 
shall outstrip those of ten taken out of the hedge, provided you defend 
them well from cattle, which are exceedingly liquorish after their tops : 
The reason of this hasty transplanting, is to prevent their obstinate and 

deep rooting — tantus amor terrce which makes them hard to be 

taken up when they grow older, and that being removed, they take 
no great hold till the second year, after which they come away amain ; 
yet I have planted them of five and six inches diameter, which have 



calculated for woods, and clumps in large parks, and for standards ; but it should never 
be planted on the borders of tillage lands, because the dripping of the leaves is extremely 
prejudicial to corn, and the roots have a powerful tendency to draw the nourishment from 
the ground. Neither should it be planted near pasture ground, for if the cows eat the 
leaves or shoots, the butter will obtain a disagreeable taste. An Ash-tree, therefore, 
should never be permitted to grow in the hedge-rows of dairy farms. 

A wood of these trees, rightly managed, will produce considerable advantages to the 
owner ; for by the underwood, which will be fit to cut every fourteen or fifteen years for 
hop-poles, &c. there will be a regular income superior to the rent of the neighbouring 
lands, and still there will be a stock left for timber, which like an estate in reversion, will, 
at some future period, pour in considerable riches. 

As the quickness of growth will depend upon the goodness of the soil, the number 
of years from the first planting to the first fall, will vary accordingly ; if the wood 
be large, I would advise to have the first fall of poles very soon, that there may 
be an annual sale till the wood has been wholly cut down ; and this should be so con- 
trived, that the year after the last quarter is cut, that which was first begun on may 
be ready for a second fall. This will happen at an interval of about fifteen or twenty 
years, by which time the poles will be large ; but if they are wanted for smaller purposes, 
the fall may be proportionably sooner. 

Ash-pollards are of great service when fuel is scarce ; a few of these trees will produce 
many loads of lop. The loppings make the sweetest of all fires, and will burn well either 
green or dry ; but the intervals between the cuttings must not be too great ; for if the 
branches be suffered to grow to a very great thickness, the taking them off will propor- 
tionably injure the tree. 

Cc 2 



148 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. thriven as well as the smaller wands. You may accelerate their springing 
'^'y^^ by laying the keys in sand, and some moist fine earth, stratum super 
stratum ; but laying them not too thick ; keep them in a covered, though 
airy pluce for a winter, before you sow them ; and the second year they 
will come away mainly, so you weed, trim, and cleanse them. Cut not 
his head at all, (which being young is pithy,) nor by any means the 
fibrous part of the roots, only that downright or tap-root (which gives 
our husbandmen so much trouble in drawing) is to be totally abated : 
but this work ought to be in the increase of October or November, and 
not in the spring. We are, as I told you, willing to spare his head 
rather than the side branches, (which, whilst young may be cut close,) 
because, being yet young, it is of a spongy substance, but being once 
well fixed, you may cut him as close to the earth as you please ; it will 
cause him to shoot prodigiously, so as in a few years to be fit for pike- 
staves ; whereas if you take him wild out of the forest, you must 
of necessity strike off the head, which much impairs him. Hedge-row 
Ashes may the oftener be decapitated, and will show their heads again 
sooner than other trees so used. Young Ashes are sometimes in winter 
frost-burnt, black as coals, and then to use the knife is seasonable, though 
they do commonly recover of themselves slowly. In South Spain, 
(where, as we said, are the best) after the first dressing, they let them 
grow till they are so big, as being cleft into four parts, each part is suf- 
ficient to make a pike-staff : I am told there is a Flemish Ash, planted 
by the Dutchmen in Lincolnshire, which in six years grows to be worth 
twenty shillings the tree ; but I am not assured whether it be the Ash 
or Abele ; either of them were, upon this account, a worthy encourage- 
ment, if at least the latter can be thought to bear that price, which 
I much question : From these low cuttings come our Ground- Ashes, 
so much sought after for arbours, espaliers, and other pole-works : they 
will spring in abundance, and may be reduced to one for a standard-tree, 
or for timber, if you design it ; for thus. Hydra-like, a ground-cut Ash 

Per damna, per caedes, ab ipso 

Ducit opes animumque ferro. hor. 

By havock, wounds, and blows. 
More lively and luxuriant grows. 

Ash may be propagated from a bough slipt off with some of the old wood 
a little before the bud swells, but with difficulty by layers. Such as they 



OF FOREST.TREES. 



149 



reserve for spears in Spain, they keep shriped up close to the stem, and CHAP. vil. 
plant them in close order, and moister places. These they cut above the ^"^^V^^ 
knot (for the least nodosity spoils all) in the decrease of January, which 
were of the latest for us. It is reported that the Ash will not only 
receive its own kind, but graff, or be inoculated, with the Pear and 
Apple ; but to what improvement I know not. 

3. It is by no means convenient to plant Ash in plough-lands, for the 
roots will be obnoxious to the coulter ; and the shade of the tree 
is malignant both to corn and grass, when the head and branches over- 
drip and emaciate them ; but in hedge-rows and plumps they will thrive 
exceedingly, where they may be disposed at nine or ten feet distance, 
and sometimes nearer : But in planting of a whole wood of several kinds 
of trees for timber, every third set at least should be an Ash. The best 
Ash delights in the best land, which it will soon impoverish, yet grows 
in any, so it be not over stiff, wet, and approaching to the marshy, unless 
it be first well drained ; By the banks of sweet and crystal rivers and 
streams, I have observed them to thrive infinitely. One may observe 
as manifest a difference in the timber of the Ash as of the Oak, much 
more than is found in any one kind of Elm, cceteris paribus ; for so the 
Ground- Ash, like the Oak, much excels a bough or branch of the same 
bulk, for strength and toughness ; and in yet farther emulation of the 
Oak, it has been known to prove as good and lasting timber for building, 
nay, preferred before it, where there has been plenty of Oak ; vast 
difference there is also in the strength of ground and quartered Ash. — 
It is likewise remarkable that the Ash, like the Cork-tree, grows when 
the bark is as it were quite peeled off, as has been observed in several 
forests, where the deer have bared them as far as they could climb. 
Some Ash is curiously cambleted and veined ; I say, so differently from 
other timber, that our skilful cabinet-makers prize it equally with Ebony, 
and give it the name of Green Ebony, which their customers pay well 
for ; and when our woodmen light upon it, they make what money they 
will of it : But to bring it to that curious lustre, so as it is hardly to be ^ 
distinguished from the most curiously diapered Olive, they varnish their 
work with the China varnish, hereafter described, which infinitely excels 
the linseed oil that Cardan so commends when speaking of this root. — 
The truth is, the Bruscum or Molluscum, to be frequently found in this 
wood, is nothing inferior to that of Maple, (of which hereafter,) being 



150 



A DISCOURSE 



altogether as exquisitely diapered, and waved like tlie lines of the Agate. 
Dr. Plott speaks of an eminent example of divers strange figures of fish, 
men, and beasts to be found in a dining- table made of an old Ash, 
standing in a gentleman's house somewhere in Oxfordshire ; upon which 
is mentioned that of Jacobus Gafferellus, in his book of " Unheard-of 
Curiosities," namely, of a tree found in Holland, which, being cleft, had, 
in several slivers, the figures of a chalice, a priest's alb, his stole, and 
several other pontifical vestments. Of this sort was the Elm growing 
at Middle-Aston in Oxfordshire, a block of which wood being cleft, 
there came out a piece so exactly resembling a shoulder of veal, that 
it was worthy to be reckoned among the curiosities of this nature. 

4. The use of the Ash is (next to that of Oak itself) one of the most 
universal: It serves the soldier — etFraocinus uiilis Jiastis^ — and heretofore 
the scholar, who made use of the inner bark to write on, before the 
invention of paper. The carpenter, wheelwright, and cartwright find 
it excellent for ploughs, axle-trees, wheel-rings, harrows, bulls ; it makes 
good oars, blocks for pullies, and shefFs, as seamen name them : For 
drying herrings no wood is like it, and the bark is good for the tanning 
of nets ; and, like the Elm, (for the same property of not being apt to 
split and scale,) is excellent for tenons and mortises ; also for the cooper, 
turner, and thatcher ; nothing is like it for our garden palisade hedges, 
hop-yards, poles, and spars, handles and stocks for tools, spade-trees, &:c. 
In sum, the husbandman cannot be without the Ash for his carts, 
ladders, and other tackling, from the pike, spear, and bow, to the plough ; 
for of Ash w^ere they formerly made, and therefore reckoned amongst 
those woods which, after long tension, have a natural spring, and recover 
their position ; so as in peace and war it is a wood in highest request : 
In short, so useful and profitable is this tree, next to the Oak, that every 
prudent Lori^, of a Manor should employ one acre of ground with Ash 
to every twenty acres of other land, since in as many years it would be 



y Spears were anciently made of Myrtle, Cornel, and Hazel ; but Pliny prefers the Ash 
for that purpose. " Obedientissima quocumque in opere fraxinus, eademque hastis corylo 
" melior, corno levior, sorbo lentior." Homer arms his heroes with spears of Ash : 



From Pelion's cloudy top an Ash entire. 
Old Chiron fell'd, and shap'd it for his sire. 



POPE. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 151 

more worth than the land itself. There is extracted an oil from the Ash, cHAP. VII. 
by the process on other woods, which is excellent to recover the hearing, 
some drops of it being distilled warm into the ears ; and for the caries 
or rot of the bones, tooth-ache, pains in the kidneys ^nd spleen, the 
anointing therewith is most sovereign ^ Some have used the saw-dust 
of this wood, instead of guaiacum, with success. The chymists exceed- 
ingly commend the seed of Ash to be an admirable remedy for the 
stone : But (whether by the power of magic or nature, I determine not) 
I have heard it affirmed with great confidence, and upon experience, 
that the rupture to which many children are obnoxious, is healed, 
by passing the infant through a wide cleft made in the bole or stem 
of a growing Ash-tree ; it is then carried a second time round the Ash, 
and caused to repass the same aperture as before. The rupture of the 
child being bound up, it is supposed to heal as the cleft of the tree closes 
and coalesces. The manna of Calabria is found to exsude out of the 
leaves and boughs of this tree during the hot summer months^ : Lastly, 

z As Mr. Evelyn does not profess any knowledge in medicine, but, on the contrary often 
makes an apology for his ignorance in that science, I shall only remark, that the boasted 
properties of the oil obtained from the Ash are not to be depended on, being only 
in common with oil obtained from any other tree. The curing a ruptured child, by passing 
its body through a cleft made in the bole of a young Ash-tree, has no foundation in reason 
or philosophy. 

» The Ash described by Mr. Miller, under the title of Fraxinus Rotundtfolia, is said by him 
to be the tree from whence manna is procured ; but we are now informed by Dr. Dominico 
Cirilli, that it is the Fraxinus Ornus. The Doctor, in a letter addressed to Dr. Watson, 
and inserted in the sixtieth vol. of the Philosoph. Trans, says, " The Manna-tree, commonly 
"called Ornus by botanists, is a kind of Ash, and is to be found under the name of 
"Fraxinus Ornus, in Linnaeus's Sp. Plant. In all the woods near Naples, the Manna- 
" tree is to be found very often, but, for want of cultivation, it never produces any manna, 
" and is rather a shrub than a tree. The manna is generally of two kinds, not on account 
" of the intrinsic quality of them being different, but because they are got inia different 
" manner. In order to have the manna, those who have the management of the woods 
" of the Orni, in the months of July and August, when the weather is very dry and warm, 
" make an oblong incision, and take off from the bark of the tree about three inches in 
"length and two in breadth; they leave the wound open, and by degrees the manna runs 
"out, and is almost suddenly thickened to its proper consistence, and is found adhering 
"to the bark of the tree. This manna is collected in baskets, and goes under the name 
"of Manna Grassa. When the people want to have a very fine manna, they apply to the 
« incision of the bark, thin straw, or small bits of shrubs, so that the manna, in coming 
"out, runs upon these bodies, and is collected in a sort of regular tubes, which give it the 
« name of Manna in Cannoli ; that is, manna in tubes. This kind is always preferred to the 
" other, because it is free and clear." 



152 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. the white and rotten dotard part composes the ground for our gallants' 
"^^^''^^ sweet powder ; and the truncheons make the third sort of the most 
durable coal, and is, of all other, the sweetest of our forest fuelling, and 
the fittest for ladies' chambers : it will burn even whilst it is green, and 
may be reckoned amongst the awuva. li\a. To conclude : The very dead 
leaves afford, like those of the Elm, relief to our cattle in winter ; and 
there is a dwarf sort in France, (if in truth it be not, as I suspect, our 
Witchen-tree,) whose berries feed the poor people in scarce years ; but 
it bears no keys like to ours, which, being pickled tender, afford a 
delicate salading : but the shade of the Ash is not to be endured, 
because the leaves produce a noxious insect ; and for displaying them- 
selves so very late, and falling very early, not to be planted for umbrage 
or ornament, especially near the garden, since (besides their predatious 
roots) the leaves dropping with so long a stalk, are drawn by clusters 
into the worm-holes, which foul the alleys with their keys, and suddenly 
infect the ground. Note, that the season for felling of this tree must 
be when the sap is fully at rest ; for if you cut it down too early, or over 
late in the year, it will be so obnoxious to the worm, as greatly to 
prejudice the timber; therefore, be sure not to fell but in the three 
middle winter months, beginning about November. But in lopping of 
pollards, as of soft woods, Mr. Cooke advises it should be towards the 
spring, and that you do not suffer the lops to grow too great ; also, that 
so soon as a pollard comes to be considerably hollow at the head, you 
suddenly cut it down, the body decaying more than the head is worth : 
The same he pronounces of taller ashes, and where the wood-peckers 
make holes (which constantly indicates their being faulty) to fell it in 
winter. I am astonished at the universal confidence of some, that 
a serpent will rather creep into the fire than over a twig of Ash ; this 
is an old imposture of Pliny, who either took it upon trusty or we mistake 
the tre^. For other species, see Raii Dendrolog. torn. iii. lib. xxx. 
p. 95. De Fraxino, torn. ii. p. 1704!. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



153 



CHAPTER VIII. 
The CHESTNUT \ 

1. C ASTANEA, the CHESTNUT. Of this Pliny reckons many kinds, cH. 
especially about Tarentum and Naples ; but we commend those 
of Portugal or Bayonne, choosing the largest, brownest^ and most 
ponderous for fruit, such as Pliny calls Coctivse, but the lesser ones for 



Dr. LinriEEus has, with great botanical propriety, made the Chestnut a species 
of Fagus; but as Mr. Evelyn and others have considered them as sepai-ate, I think 
I shall be more generally understood by retaining the old distinction. — The species are : 

1. CASTANEA (sativa) foliis lanceolatis acuminato-serratis, subtus nudis. Lin, Sp. 
PI. 1416. Chestnut with spear-shaped leaves, rvhich are sharply sarved, and naked on their 
underside. Castanea sativa. C. B. P. 418. The chestnut tree. 

This beautiful tree deserves to be ranked with timber-trees of the first class, Avhether we con- 
sider its ornamental appearance when growing, or its uses when felled. The leaves are 
large, of a pleasant green colour, and in the autumn turn to a golden jellow; so that 
in that declining season, amongst, the different tinges in a wood, this is very conspicuous, 
and makes an agreeable contrast. If these trees are planted in large wilderness quarters 
next the walks, or in woods by the side of the ridings, and are left untrimmed, as they ought 
* to be, they will be feathered to the bottom, and not only make a beautiful appearance, 
but all the summer will hide those naked and crooked stems of other trees, in the plantations 
and woods, which are always esteemed disagreeable objects. '^I'his tree was formerly 
cultivated in this island in greater quantities than at present ; and appears to have been 
the chief timber, in earlier times, used for building. It were greatly to be wished, that the 
ancient spirit of propagating the Chestnut could be revived, as the timber is excellent 
in its kind, being as valuable as the Oak, and in many respects superior to it ; like that king 
of our woods, (for this title the Oak must still retain,) it yields the industrious planter 
an annual crop. The nuts are well liked by deer, and swine prefer them to the acorn. 
The uses of the timber of this tree, like that of the Oak, are almost universal. It is 
not only excellent for all sorts of building, but is also serviceable for mill-timber and 
water-works ; so that if pipes bored of this wood lie constantly under ground, they will 
endure longer than the Elm. Of the Chestnut are made tables, stools, chairs, chests, 
and bedsteads. It is preferred for the making all sorts of tubs and vessels to hold liquor ; 
and, in this respect, it is superior to Oak ; because, when once thoroughl;^ seasoned, it is 
not subject either to shrink or swell, but will constantly maintain an equal magnitude of bulk ; 
and for this reason the Italians make their casks and tuns for wine of this wood. For 
smaller purposes it has its superior advantages : Poles of this tree, for hops, vines, &c. will last 
Volume I. D d 



154 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. raising timber. They are produced best by sowing and setting ; previous 
"^^^^^ to which, let the nuts be first spread to sweat, then cover them in sand : 
a month being past, plunge them in water and reject the swimmers : 
being dried for thirty days more, sand them again, and to the water- 
ordeal as before. Being thus treated till the beginning of spring, 
or in November, set them as you would do beans ; and, as some practise 



longer than of any other ; and stakes of the underwood will last nearly twice as long as those 
of any other sort. Of the Chestnut there are several varieties which have accidentally arisen 
from seed, of which some have been supposed distinct species, but the difference lies only 
in the size of the fruit and leaves, which have been altered and improved by culture ; so that 
the wild and manured Chestnut are undoubtedly the same. In many countries, where 
Chestnut-trees are cultivated, the people graft the largest and fairest fruit upon stocks raised 
from the nut. And these grafted trees are by the French called Maronnier ; but they are 
unfit for timber. 

2. CASTANEA C pumila ) foliis lanceolato-ovatis acute serratis, subtus tomentosis, 
amentis filiformibus nodosis. Gron. Virg. 150. Chestnut with oval, spear-shaped leaves, 
shai-ply sawed, rvhich are woolly on their under side, and a slender knotted Catkin. Castanea 
pumila, Virginiana, racemose fructu parvo in singulis capsulis echinatis unico. Pluk. Aim. 
90. — The chinquapin. 

The Chinquapin, or Dwarf Virginian Chestnut, is at present very rare in England: it is very 
common in the woods of America, where it seldom grows above twelve or fourteen feet high, 
and produces great plenty of nuts, which are, for the most part, single in each outer coat 
or capsule. This tree is very hardy, and will resist the severest of our winters in the open 

ground, but is very apt to decay in summer, especially if it be planted in very dry ground. 

The nuts of these trees, if brought from America, should be put up in sand as soon as tfiey 
are ripe, and sent to England immediately, otherwise they lose their growing quality, which 
is the reason this tree is at present so scarce with us ; for not one seed in five hundred sent over 
ever grows, owing to the neglect of putting them up in this manner. When the nuts arrive, 
they should be put into the ground as soon as possible; and if the winter should prove severe, 
it will be proper to cover the ground with leaves, tan, or pease-haulm, to prevent the frost 
from penetrating the ground, so as to destroy the nuts. This sort of Chestnut delights in 
a moist soil ; but if the wet continues long upon the ground in winter, it is apt to kill the 
trees. This will take by inarching it upon the common sort, but the trees so raised 
seldom succeed well. 

In the system of Linnaeus the Chestnut is ranked in the class and order Monoecia 
Polyandria. The male flowers are collected in long catkins, and begin to open about the 
ninth of May. The buds usually appear about the fourteenth of April, and in six or seven 
days, the leaves will be quite out ; they remain green till about the twelfth of October, 
when they assume a yellow colour. 

The culture of this tree is as follows : Having provided a sufficient quantity of nuts, 
throw them into water, to know whether they are sound and good ; the sound ones will 
sink to the bottom, whilst the others will show themselves to be faulty by swimming. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



155 



it, drenched for a night or more, in new milk : But without half this CH. VIII. 
preparation they need only be put into the holes with the point upmost, ^'^'V^*' 
as you plant tulips. Pliny will tell you, they come not up, unless four 
or five be piled together in a hole ; but that is false, if they be good, 
as you may presume all those to be which pass the examination, nor will 
any of them fail; but being come up, they thrive best unremoved. 



This method should be always practised, that you may be certain of your seeds, whether 
they are of English or foreign growth. Indeed, in some cold, damp soils, Chesnut-trees 
seldom perfect their seeds here ; but where they do, our English trees produce very good 
seeds for the purpose ; though it is generally allowed that those brought from Portugal and 
Spain are better. 

The goodness of the nuts being thus proved, and having a sufficient quantity of ground 
properly prepared for the seminary, in the month of February let drills, about a foot 
distance from each other, be made across this ground, about four inches deep, in which 
let the nuts be placed, at about four inches distance, throughout every drill. Some people 
recommend the eye of the nut to be placed uppermost, but there seems no necessity for 
such a caution ; nature in all cases of sowing, pushes the germ upwards and the root 
downwards ; and if we were, by way of experiment, to turn the germ of a new-sprouted 
bean downwards and the root upwards, the plant, from a kind of vegetable instinct 
impressed upon it by the Author of Nature, would counteract our intentions, and in a few 
days the germ and root would reassume their former positions. 

In the spring, when the young plants appear, they should be kept clear from weeds ; 
and as often as any weeds present themselves, they must be plucked up during the time 
the trees remain in the seminary, which ought to be two years from the time of sowing. 

The plants, having stood in the seminary two years, must be carefully taken up, all 
the side-shoots taken off, and the tap-root shortened ; then, having ground in the nursery 
double-dug, let them be planted in rows, two feet and a half or three feet asunder, and 
at least one foot and a half distant in the rows. The best time for doing this work 
is the latter end of February ; for if they are planted in October, the severe frosts will 
be subject to throw the young plants out of the ground before winter is over. A year after 
they have been planted in the nursery, it will be very proper to cut every one of them 
down to within an inch of the ground ; which will cause them to shoot vigorously with 
one strong and straight stem. Without this treatment, they are very subject to grow 
scraggy and crooked, and to make but slow progress ; so that where they do not take well 
to the ground, and shoot irregularly, they should be cut down according to this direction ; 
after which they will shoot strongly, and, in a short time, overtake those that have not 
undergone this operation, though planted some years before them. 

In this nursery they may remain four or five years, when they will be fit to plant out, 
with no other pruning than taking off very strong side-branches, and such as have 
a tendency to make the tree forked. The only trouble required will be keeping the 
ground clear of weeds, and every winter digging between the rows. — After they are 
of a sufficient size to be planted out for standards, either in fields, clumps, wilderness 

D d 2 



156 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. making a great stand for at least two years upon every transplanting ; 

yet if needs you must alter their station, let it be done about November, 
and tliat into a light friable ground, or moist gravel ; however, they will 
grow even in clay, sand, and all mixed soils, upon exposed and bleak 
places, and the pendent declivities of hills to the north, in dry airy 
places, and sometimes, though not so well, near marshes and waters ; 



quai-ters, or avenues, they should be carefully taken out of the nursery ; and having holes 
dug three feet square, and a foot and a half deep, with the turf chopt small at the bottom 
of each hole, let them be planted in the usual manner. After this, they may be turfed 
round to keep them steady against the winds. The best month for this work is 
October. 

When these trees are designed for timber, they should remain unremoved ; but when 
the fruit only is desired, it is certainly the better way to transplant them : for as trans- 
planting is a check to the luxuriant growth of trees, so it is a promoter of their fruc- 
tification. 

If you design a large plantation of these trees for timber, after having two or three 
times ploughed the ground, the better to destroy the roots of weeds, you should draw thin 
furrows about six feet distance from each other, in which lay the nuts about ten inches 
asunder, covering them with earth about two inches deep ; and when they come up, you 
must carefully clear them from weeds : the distance allowed between each row, is for the 
use of the horse-hoe, which will despatch a great deal of work in a short time; but 
it should be performed with great care, so as not to injure the young plants : therefore 
the middle of the spaces only should be cleaned with this instrument, and a hand-hoe must 
be used to clean between the plants in the rows, and also on each side, where it will 
be unsafe for the plough to be drawn : and in hand-hoeing, there must be great care taken 
not to cut the tender rind of the plants. If in the following spring the spaces are carefully 
stirred with the plough, it will not only make the ground clean, but also loosen it, which 
will greatly promote the growth of the plants; and the oftener these ploughings are 
repeated, the cleaner will be the ground, and the greater will be the progress of the 
plants, which cannot be kept too clean while they are young. When these have 
remained three or four years, if the nuts succeed well, you will have many of these trees 
to remove, which should be done at the seasons before directed, leaving the trees distant 
about three feet in the rows ; at which distance they may remain three or four years 
more, when you should remove every other tree to make room for the remaining ones, 
which will reduce the whole plantation to six feet square, which will be distance enough 
for them to remain in, until they are large enough for poles, when you may cut down every 
other of these trees (making choice of the least promising) in order to make stools for 
poles, which, in ten or twelve years, will be strong enough to lop for hoops, hop-poles, 
&c. for which purposes they are preferable to most other trees ; so that every tenth 
or twelfth year there will be a fresh crop, which will pay the rent of the ground, and all 
other incumbent charges, and, at the same time, a full crop of growing timber will be left 
upon the ground : but as the large trees increase in bulk, their distance of twelve feet 



OF FOUEST-TREES. 



157 



but they affect no other compost, save what their own leaves afford them, CH. VIII. 
and are more patient of cold than heat. As for their sowing in the 
nursery, treat them as you are taught in the Walnut. 

2. If you design to set them in winter or autumn, I counsel you to 
inter them within their husks, which, being every way armed, are a good 



square will be too small ; therefore when they have grown to a size for small boards, you 
should fell every other tree, which will reduce them to twenty-four feet square, which 
is a proper distance for them to . remain for good ; this will give air to the under-wood 
(which by this time would bfe too much overhung by the closeness of the large trees) 
by which means that will be greatly encouraged, and the fall of the small timber will 
pay sufficient interest for the money at first laid out in planting, &c. with the principal 
also ; so that all the remaining trees will be clear profit, as the under-wood, still continuing, 
will pay the rent of the ground, and all other expenses. 

I have here ventured to recommend the raising a wood of Chestnut- trees from the nut, 
by the authority, and nearly in the words of Mr. Miller ; but Mr. Hanbury contends that 
it is much better to plant such a wood from the nursery. He says, " Where a wood 
" of these trees is wanted, they should be raised in the nursery way ; and when the plants 
" are above five feet high, they will be of the properest size for the purpose : for they 
" will then not be so large as to require staking, nor yet so small but that they will be out 
" of the reach of hares, rabbits, &c. Therefore, as soon as the trees are about this height 
" in the nursery, let the ground designed for the wood be ploughed deep with a very strong 
" plough, that the uppermost and the best part of the soil may be laid as low as possible, 
"to be of greater nourishment to the tree, when it receives its tender fibres. The 
" distance these trees should be planted from one another ought to be two yards ; and this 
"will be a proper distance for them to grow up to poles; when they should be cut down, 
" only leaving a sufficient number of the best and most thriving trees for timber. Thus, 
*' whilst the latter are making their progress to a larger bulk, being left at a distance of 
" near twenty feet, the poles will, at the interval of fourteen years from the first planting, 
"reward the owner's toil with no inconsiderable profits ; and if they are cut down within 
" about a foot of the ground, there will be stools for another crop of poles, which will 
" be ready for a second cutting in about ten years ; so that every ten years the planter 
" will taste the sweets of his labour, while his expectations are still augmented, as to the 
" advantage of his family in after-times. If the plantation is large, I would advise to begin 
" the first fall of poles so early, and to defer the latter so late, that the year after the last 
" fall, the stools of the first-cut poles shall have sent forth poles ready for a second cutting. 
" Thus the proprietor will not only enjoy the benefits of an annual sale, but the country 
" will not be glutted with too great a quantity of poles at a time, and consequently they 
" may be sold at a better price. 

" Such are the directions I would give for raising a wood of these trees ; which I take 
" to be better than planting the nuts, and letting them remain ; not only because the plant 
" is then subject to a tap-root, which strikes directly into the ground beyond the reach 



I 



158 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. protection against the mouse, and a providential integument. Pliny, 
libi XV. cap. xxiii, from this natural guard, concludes them to be excellent 
food ; and doubtless Cassar thought so, when he transported them from 
Sardis first into Italy,whence they were propagated into France, and thence 
among us; another encouragement to make such experiments out of foreign 
countries. Some sow them confusedly in the furrow like the acorn, and 
govern them as the Oak; but then tiie ground should be broken up be- 
twixt November and February ; and when they spring, be cleansed and 
thinned two feet asunder, after two years growth : Likewise may copses 
of Chestnuts be wonderfully increased and thickened, by laying the 
tender and young branches ; but such as spring from the nuts and 
marrons are best of all, and will thrive exceedingly, if (being let stand 
without removing) the ground be stirred, and loosened about their roots 
for two or three of the first years, and the superfluous wood pruned 
away ; and indeed for good trees, they should be shriped up after the 
first year's removal ; they also shoot into gallant poles from a felled stem : 
Thus will you have a copse ready for a felling, within eight years, which, 
besides many other uses, will yield you incomparable poles for any work 
of the garden, vineyard, or hop-yard, till the next cutting ; and if the 
tree like the ground, it will, in ten or twelve years, grow to a kind 
of timber, and bear plentiful fruit. 

3. I have seen maiiy Chestnut-trees transplanted as big as my arm, 
their heads cut off at five and six feet height, but they came on at leisure. 



" of nourishment, and consequently must in proportion grow slower, but also because the 
"expenses will be less. While they are in the nursery, a vast quantity of them will 
" stand upon a small space of ground, and consequently be raised at a small expense ; but 
" when the nuts are planted with a design to remain, the whole extent of the ground 
" intended for the wood must be kept clear of weeds, till the plants are grown of a suf- 
" ficient size to defend themselves." — Body of Planting, p. 14. 

The Chestnut will thrive on almost all soils and in all situations. It will grow best, 
indeed, in a rich loamy land ; but it will succeed very well on that which is gravelly, 
clayey, or sandy. All mixed soils are suitable to it, as well as exposed places, and the 
declivities of hills. Posts made of tliis tree are much more durable than Oak. 

This tree had its name Castanea from a town of the name of Kao-7avK in Thessaly, about 
which the Chestnut grew in great abundance. It lias the same appellation in all the 
European languages. In (merman, it is castanienbaum; in Swedish and Danish, 
CASTANiETRiEB; iu French, CHATAIGNER J in Italian, castagno; in Spanish, castano ; 
in Portuguese, castanheiro ; in Russian, it is keschtan. 



V./.7 




OF FOREST-TREES. 



159 



In such plantations and all others for avenues, you may set them from ch. 
thirty to ten feet distance, though they will grow nmch nearer, and 
shoot into poles, if, being tender, you cultivate them like the Ash, the 
nature of whose shade it resembles, since nothing affects much to grow 
under it. Some husbands tell me, that the young Chestnut-trees should 
not be pruned or touched with any knife or edge-tool for the first three 
or four years, but rather cropped or broken oflT, which I leave to farther 
experience ; however many forbear to top them when they transplant. 

4. The Chestnut being graffed on the Walnut, Oak, or Beech, I have 
been told, will come exceedingly fair, and produce incomparable fruit ; for 
the Walnut and Chestnut on each other, it is probable^ but I have not 
yet made a full attempt. They also speak of inoculating cherries on the 
Chestnut-stock for a later fruit. In the mean-time, I wish we did more 
universally propagate the Horse-Chestnut, which being easily increased 
from layers, grows into a goodly standard, and bears a most glorious 
flower, even in our cold country. This tree, so called from its curing 
broken-winded horses, and other cattle, of coughs, is now all the mode 
for the avenues to their country palaces in France, as appears by the late 
Superintendent's plantation at Vaux. It was first brought from Con- 
stantinople to Vienna, thence into Italy, and so to France ; but to us from 
the Levant more immediately, and flourishes so well, and grows so 
goodly a tree in competent time, that, by this alone, we might have 
ample encouragement to denizen other strangers amongst us. One 
inconvenience to which this beautiful tree is obnoxious, is, that it does 
not well resist impetuous and stormy winds without damage 



This is the -iESCULUS Chippo-castanvm ) floribus heptandris. Sp, PI, 488. The 
HORSE-CHESTNUT. It is of the class and order Hepiandria Monogynia. 

The Horse-Chestnut is a tree of singular beauty ; the leaves are large, fine, and 
palmated, and appear very early in the spring. It is naturally uniform in its growth, 
always forming its head into a regular parabola. In the spring it produces long spikes 
of rich and beautiful flowers. 

This tree is a native of the East, and is said to have been brought into Europe in l6lO ; 
at which time also the Laurel was introduced into the English gardens: But we have 
reason to believe that this tree was brought from Constantinople, and made a denizen 
of England, almost an hundred years before the above-mentioned period. 

The Horse-Chestnut is very proper to be planted for avenues or walks ; but it is 
objected to by some, on account of its leaves falling off early in the autumn. But it should 



160 



A DISCOURSE 



\ 



5. The Chestnut is, next the Oak, one of the most sought after by the 
carpenter and joiner. It hath formerly built a good part of our ancient 
houses in the city of London, as does yet appear. I had once a very 
large barn near the city, framed entirely of this timber ; and certainly 
the trees grew not far off, probably in some woods near the town : for, 
in that description of London, written by Fitz-Stephens, in the reign 
of Henry II. he speaks of a very noble and large forest which grew 
on the boreal part of it ; Proxime, says he, jpatet foresta ingens, saltus 
nemorosiferaruvi, latehrce cervorum, damarum, aprorum, et taurorum 
sylvestrhm, 8sf. A very goodly thing it seems, and as well stored with 
all sorts of good timber as with venison and all kind of chase ; and yet 
some will not allow the Chestnut to be a freeborn of this Island, but 



be considered that it shoots out proportionably earlier in the spring, which, together with 
its beautiful flowers, makes it an ornamental and desirable tree. 

This tree is extremely well adapted to parks ; not only because it grows to a large size, 
and forms a beautiful regular head, but on account of the quantity of nuts it produces, 
wliich are excellent food for deer in the rutting season : So that in parks where great 
numbers of deer are kept, I would recommend these trees to be planted in abundance. 
They are likewise very proper for the boundaries of open fields, to terminate views, &c. 
and though there are no deer to eat the nuts, yet the swine are equally delighted with 
them, and will fatten greatly with such provender. 

The buds of this tree, before they shoot out leaves, become turgid and large ; so that 
they have a good effect to the eye, by their bold appearance, long before the leaves 
appear : And what is peculiar to the Horse-Chestnut is, that as soon as the leading shoot 
is come out of the bud, it continues to grow so fast, as to be able to form its whole 
summer's shoot in about three weeks or a month. After this it grows little more 
in length, but thickens, and becomes strong and woody, and forms the buds for the next 
year's shoot. The flowers are in full blow about the- twelfth of May, and on fine trees 
make a noble appearance. 

This tree is propagated from the nut; In autumn, therefore, when the nuts fall, 
a sufficient quantity should be gathered. Some people recommend them to be sown 
immediately in drills ; but others with more propriety, delay the sowing till the spring, 
by which means they will escape the ravages of the field-mouse. Previous to sowing, they 
should be thrown into water, as directed in page 46, which will secure to the planter tlie 
certainty of a crop. 

In the spring the plants will come up ; and when they have stood one year they may 
be taken up, their tap-roots shortened, and afterwards planted in the nursery, and 
managed in the same manner as was directed for the Spanish Chestnut. 

When they are of sufficient size to be planted out for good, they must be taken out 
of the nursery with care ; let the great side-shoots and the bruised parts of the roots 
be taken off, and when planted out, let the holes be large, taking care that the top of the 



OF FOREST-TREES. 161 

of that I make little doubt The Chestnut affords the best stakes for CH. VIII. 
palisades, and props for vines and hops, as I said before. It is good for '^^'^^ 
mill-timber or water- works, or where it may lie buried ; but if water 
touch the roots of the growing trees, it spoils both fruit and timber. — . 
It is likewise observed, that this tree is so prevalent against cold, that, 
where they stand, they defend other plantations from the injuries of the 
severest frosts. I am sure, being planted in hedge-rows, et circa agrorum 
itinera, or for avenues to our country-houses, they are a magnificent and 
royal ornament. This timber also does well, if kept dry, for columns, 
tables, chests, chairs, stools, bedsteads ; for tubs, and casks for wine, 
which it preserves with the least tincture of the wood of any whatsoever. 
If the timber be dipped in scalding oil, and well pitched, it becomes 
extremely durable, but otherwise, I cannot celebrate the tree for its 
sincerity, it being found that, contrary to the Oak, it will make a fair 
show outwardly, when it is all decayed and rotten within ; but this is 
in some sort recompensed, if it be true that the beams made of Chestnut- 
tree have this property, that, being somewhat brittle, they give warning 
and premonish the danger by a certain crackling, so as, it is said, to have 



root be nearly level with the ground. The fibres must be spread and lapped in the fine 
mould, and the turf worked to the bottom. A stake should be placed to keep them safe 
from the winds, and they must be fenced from the cattle till they are of a sufficient size 
to defend themselves. The best season for this woi*k is October.— —After the trees are 
planted, neither knife nor hatchet should come near them ; but they should be left to 
Nature in the formation of their beautiful parabolic heads. 

The Horse-Chestnut, like most other trees, delights most in good fat-land ; but it will 
grow exceedingly well on clayey and marly grounds. I have seen large trees, luxuriant, 
and healthy, in very cold, barren, and hungry earth. In short, it may be planted in most 
places to the owner's satisfaction. It grows to a large size in a few years. The wood is 
chiefly used by the turner, and in the north is worth about sixpence a foot. 

Of this genus there is another species titled by Linnaeus, ESCULUS ( pavia J floribus 
octandris. Sp. PI. 488. The scarlet-flowering horse-chestnut. This is a tree of 
humble growth, seldom exceeding fifteen feet in height. It grows naturally in Carolina, 
the Brasils, and in several parts of the East. 

*■ In the sixty-first volume of the Philosophical Transactions, Dr. Ducarel opposes the 
opinion of the Hon. Daines Barrington, who, in the fifty-ninth volume of the same work, 
had asserted that " Chestnut-trees were not natives of this kingdom." I do not take upon 
me to say whether the Chestnut-tree be a native of the southern parts of this island or 
not ; but I am well-informed that no such tree has ever been discovered in any of the 
natural woods north of Trent ; and indeed it is most probable that it is not a native. 

Volume I. E e 



/ 



162 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. frighted those out of the baths at Antandro, whose roof was laid with 
"^^f^^ this material, but which, Pliny says, was of Hazel, very unlike it. — 
Formerly they made consultory staves of this tree ; and the variegated 
rods which Jacob peeled to lay in the troughs, to impress a fancy in his 
father-in-law's conceiving ewes, are said to have been of this material. 
The coals are excellent for the smith, being soon kindled, and as soon ex- 
tinguished ; but the ashes of Chestnut-wood are not convenient to make a 
lye with, because it is observed to stain the linen. As for the fruit, it is 
better to beat it down from the tree some little time before it falls off of 
itself; thus the nuts will keep the better, or else you must kiln-dry them. 
But we give that fruit to our swine in England, which is amongst the 
delicacies of princes in other countries, and, being of the larger nut, 
is a lusty and masculine food for rustics at all times, and of better 
nourishment for husbandmen than cole and rusty bacon, yea, or beans 
to boot ; instead of which, they boil them in Italy with their bacon ; 
and, in Virgil's time, they eat them with milk and cheese ^ The 
best tables in France and Italy make them a service, eating them with 
salt, in wine, or juice of lemon and sugar, being first roasted in embers 
on the chaplet ; and, doubtless, we might propagate their use among our 
common people, (as of old the BaXavo^ayo.) being a food so cheap, and 
so lasting. In Italy they boil them in wine, and then smoke them 
a little ; these they call anseri, or geese, I know not why : Those 
of Piedmont add fennel, cinnamon, and nutmeg to their wine ; but first 
they peel them. Others macerate them in rose-water. The bread of the 
flour is exceedingly nutritive ; it is a robust food, and makes women well- 
complexioned, as I have read in a good author. They also make fritters 
of chestnut flour, which they wet with rose-water, and sprinkle with 
grated parmigiano, and so fry them in fresh butter for a delicate. How 
we here use Chestnuts in stewed meats and beatille pies, our French 
cooks teach us ; and this is in truth their very best use, and very com- 
mendable ; for it is found that the eating of them raw, or in bread, 
as they do much in the Limosin, is apt to swell the belly, though without 
any other inconvenience that I can learn ; and yet some condemn them 



« Tityrus, in his invitation to Melibceus, says, 

Sunt nobis mitia poma, 

Castaneae molles, et pressi copia lactis. 



ECL. i, 1.81. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



163 



as dangerous for such as are subject to the gravel in the kidneys ; and ch. Vlir, 
however cooked and prepared, flatulent, offensive to the head and ^^^v^ 
stomach, especially to those who are subject to the colick. The best 
way to preserve them, is to keep them in earthen vessels in a cold place ; 
some lay them in a smoke-loft, others in dry barley-straw, others in 
sand, kc. The leaves of the Chestnut-tree make very wholesome 
mattresses to lie on, and they are good litter for cattle : But those leafy 
beds, for the crackling noise they make when one turns upon them, 
the French call licts de parliament. Lastly, the flour of Chestnuts, made 
into an electuary with honey, and eaten fasting, is an approved remedy 
against spitting of blood, and the cough : and a decoction of the rind 
of the tree, tinctures hair of a golden colour, esteemed a beauty in some 
countries. For other species, vide Rail Dendrolog. torn. iii. 



E e 2 



BOOK. I. 



Saturn. Lib. 
ii. cap. xiv. 



164 A DISCOURSE 

CHAPTER IX. 

■ 

The WALNUT^. 

Macrob. 1. J UGLANS, quasi Jovis glans*, the WALNUT. This is of several 
sorts, the soft shell and the hard, the whiter and the blacker grain ; the 
black bears the worst nut, but the timber is much to be preferred, and 
we might propagate more of them if we were careful to procure them 



^ Formerly the English Walnut-ti-ee was much propagated for its wood ; but since the 
importation of Mahogany and the Virginia Walnut, it has considerably decreased in repu- 
tation. The species are : 

1. JUGLANS f regmJ foliolis ovalibus glabris subserratis subaequalibus. Lin. Sp. PI. 
1^15. Walnut with oval, small leaves, which are smooth, sawed, and equal. Nux juglans. 
Dod. Pempt. 8l6. The common walnvt. 

Of the common Walnut there are several varieties, which are distinguished by the following 
titles : the large Walnut, the thin-shelled Walnut, the French Walnut, the late-ripe Walnut, 
and the double Walnut. The nuts from these respective varieties do not always produce 
fruit of their own kinds, for which reason there ought to be no dependence upon the trees 
raised from nuts, till they have shown their fruit. 

2. JUGLANS ("nigra) foliolis quindenis-lanceolatis serratis, exterioribus rainoribus, 
gemmulis super axillaribus. Lin. Sp. PI. 1415. Walnut-tree, with spear-shaped, sawed, 
small leaves, and the exterior ones smaller. Nux juglans Virginiana nigra. Catesb. Car. 
Black Virginia walnvt. 

This grows to a large size in North America. The leaves are composed of five or six pair of 
spear-shaped lobes, which end in acute points, and are sawed on their edges ; the lower 
pair of lobes are the least, the others gradually increase in their size to the top, where they pair 
at the top, and the single lobe which terminates the leaf, are smaller; these leaves, when 
bruised, emit a strong aromatic flavour, as do also the outer covers of the nuts, which are 
rough, and rounder than those of the common Walnut. The shell of the nut is very hard 
and thick, and the kernel small, but very sweet. The following is a variety of this species : 

JUGLANS foliolis cordato-lanceolatis inferne nervosis, pediculis foliorura pubescentibus. 
Walnut with heart spear-shaped leaves, having many veins on their under side, and d<mny foot- 
stalks to the leaves. Juglans nigra, fructu oblongo profundissime insculpto. Hort. Chels. 
Black jvalnvt, with an oblong fruit very deeply furrowed. 
This sort grows naturally in North America, where the trees grow to a large size. The leaves 
are composed of seven or eight pair of long heart-shaped lobes, broad at their base, where 
they are divided into two round ears, but terminate in acute points. The fruit is very long. 
The shell is deeply furrowed and very hard. The kernel is small, but well flavoured. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



* 

165 



out of Virginia, where they abound, and bear a squarer nut ; of all others CHAP. IX. 
the most beautiful and best worth planting : Indeed, had we store of '^■^V^ 
these, we should soon despise the rest ; yet those of Grenoble come in 
the next place, and are much prized by our cabinet-makers. At all 
events, be sure to plant from young and thriving trees, bearing full and 
plump kernels. It is said that the Walnut kernel wrapped in its own 
leaf, being carefully taken out of its shell, brings a nut without shell ; 
but this is a trifle. The best way to raise them, is to set them as you 
do the Chestnut, being planted of the nut, or set at the distance you would 
have them stand; for which they may be prepared by beating them off the 



3. JUGLANS (avba) foliolis septenis-lanceolatis sei-ratis : imparl sessili. Lin. Sp. 
PL 14)15. Nux juglans alba Virginiensis. Park. Theat. 1414!. White Virginia walnut; 
called HiCKERY nut. 

This is very common in most parts of North America, where it is called Hickery Nut. The 
Jeaves are composed of two or three pair of oblong lobes, terminated by an odd one; these 
are of a light green, and sawed on their edges ; the lower pair of lobes are the smallest, and 
the upper the largest. The fruit is shaped like the common Walnut; but the shell is not 
furrowed, and is of a light colour. The two following are varieties of this species : 

1. JUGLANS foliolis cuneiformibus serratis, exterioribus majoribus. Walnut with wedge- 
shaped leaves, which are sawed, the outer being the largest. Juglans alba fructii minori cortice 
glabro. Clayt. Flor. Vii-g. White walnut with a smaller fruit, and a smooth bark. 

The leaves of this sort are composed of two pair of lobes, terminated by an odd one; these 
are narrow at their base, but broad and rounded at their ends ; they are sawed on their 
edges, and are of a light green. The nuts are small, have a smooth shell, and are very 
hard and white. ' 

2. JUGLANS foliolis lanceolatis serratis glabris subasqualibus. Walnut with smooth, 
spear-shaped, sawed leaves, which are equal, Juglans alba fructu ovato compresso, nucleo dulci, 
cortice squamoso. Clayt. Flor. Virg. White Walnut with an oval, compressed fruit, a sweet 
kernel, and a scaly bark ; called in America Shag-bark. 

This kind grows naturally in North America, where it rises to a middling stature. The leaves 
are composed of three pair of smooth spear-shaped lobes, of a dark green colour, sawed oii 
their edges, and ending in acute points. The fruit is oval, the shell white, hard, and smooth, 
the kernel small, but very sweet. The young shoots of the tree are covered wit h a very 
smooth brownish bark, but the stems and older branches have a rough scaly bark, from 
whence it has the appellation of Shag-bark. 

4. JUGLANS ( ciNEREA ) foliolis undenis-lanceolatis basi altera breviore. Lin. Sp. 
PI. 14<15. The Pennsylvania walnvt-tree. 



166 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. tree, as was prescribed of the Chestnut, some days before they quit the 
'^'^^"^^ branches of themselves, and keeping them in their husks, or without 
them, till spring ; or by bedding them, being dry, in sand or good earth, 
till INIarch or earlier, from the time they fell, or were beaten off the tree : 
But if before, they should be set with husks and all upon them ; for the 
extreme bitterness thereof is most exitial and deadly to worms ; or it 
Avere good to strew some furzes, broken or chopped small, under the 
ground amongst them, to preserve them from mice and rats, when their 



This species seldom exceeds Ihe height of thirty feet. The leaves are long, being composed 
of eleven pair of folioles, besides the odd one, with which they are terminated. The flowers 
are yellowish, and come out at the same time with the others, and are succeeded by a small, 
roundish, liard-shelled fruit. 

The Walnut, in the Linnsean system, belongs to the class and order Monoecia Polyandria. 
The flowers begin to open about the middle of April, and are in full blow by the middle 
of May, before M'hich time the leaves are fully displayed. 

These trees are propagated by planting their nuts, which should be gathered from trees 
of the best kinds. After remaining in the seminary two years, they should be transplanted 
into the nursery, where they should continue till they are about five feet in height, when 
they may be planted out where they are to remain. But as these trees do not bear 
transplanting when of a large size, it will be advisable to plant a good number at the 
distance of twelve feet from each other ; and in this state they should remain till they have 
shown their fruit, when those only of the desired kind should be permitted to stand. In 
this place it will be proper to remark, that the trees will fruit much sooner upon a 
thin lime-stone soil, than upon one that is rich and deep. So that when it is desired that the 
trees shall fruit at an early age, we must avoid planting them upon a rich soil. For the 
manner of sowing the nuts see p. 44. 

All the sorts of Walnuts which are intended for timber, should be sown in the places 
where they are to remain, in order to preserve the tap-root ; for, when once broken, the tree 
ceases to aspire, but inclines to divaricate into branches, in which state it is more pro- 
ductive of fruit than of timber. 

In transplanting these trees, you should be sparing of the knife both to their roots and 
branches ; nor should you be too busy in lopping or pruning the branches when grown to 
a large size, for it often causes them to decay ; but when there is a necessity for cutting 
off any of their branches, the operation should be done early in September, (for at that 
season the trees are not so subject to bleed,) that the wound may heal over before the 
winter. The branches should always be cut off quite close to the trunk, otherwise the stump, 
which is left, will decay and rot the body of the tree. 

The best season for transplanting these trees is as soon as the leaves begin to decay, 
at which time, if they are carefully taken up, and their branches preserved entire, there 
will be little danger of their succeeding, although they are eight or ten years old ; but, 
as before observed, these trees will not grow so large, or continue so long, as those which 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



167 



shells begin to wax tender ; especially if, as some, you supple them a CHAP. IX. 
little in warm cow's milk ; but being treated as before, you will find """^^"^^^^ 
them already sprouted, and have need only to be planted where they are 
to abide ; because, as we said long since, they are most impatient of 
transplanting : However, if there be an absolute necessity of removing, 
let your tree never be above four years old, and then by no means touch 
the head with your knife, nor cut away so much as the very tap-root, 
being so old, if you can well dispose of it ; since, being of a pithy and 



are removed young. This tree delights in a firm, rich, loamy soil, or such as is inclinable 
to chalk or marl ; and will thrive very well in stony ground, and on chalky hills, as may be 
seen by those large plantations near Leatherhead, Godstone, and Carshalton in Surrey, 
•where great numbers of those trees are planted upon the downs, which annually produce 
large quantities of fruit, to the great advantage of their owners. 

These trees should not stand at a distance of less than forty feet, especially if regard be 
had to their fruit ; though when they are only designed for timber, if they stand nearer, 
it promotes their upright growth. The black Virginia Walnut is much more inclinable to 
grow upright than the common sort, and the wood being of a more beautiful grain, renders 
it better worth cultivating. The Walnut-tree is used by cabinet-makers for bedsteads, 
chairs, tables, and cabinets ; and is one of the most durable woods for those purposes of 
English growth, being less liable to be infected with insects than most other kinds; 
(which may proceed from its extraordinary bitterness ;) but it is not proper for buildings of 
strength, it being of a brittle nature, and exceedingly subject to break short, though it 
commonly gives notice by its crackling some time before it breaks. 

Vii'gil, from the appearance that tliis tree puts on in the spring, draws his prognostic of 
the future harvest : 

Contemplator item, cum se nux plurima sylvis 
Induet in florem, et ramos curvabit olentes : 
Si superant foetus, pariter frumenta sequentur, 
Magnaque cum niagno veniet tritura calore. 
At si luxuria foliorum exuberat umbra, 

Nequicquam pingues palea teret area culmos. ceorg. i. 1.187. 

The fruit of the Walnut-tree was formerly strewed at weddings : 
tibi ducitur uxor. 

Sparge, marite, nuces. virg. ecl. viii. 1.29, 

And this ceremony was instituted to show that the bridegroom had left off his boyish 
amusements, nuces relitiquere implying the same : 

Da nuces pueris iners 
Concubine : salis diu 
Lusisti nucibus : lubet 
Jam servire Thalassio. 

Concubine, nuces da. catvll. 



MS 



A DISCOURSE 



hollow substance, the least diminution, or bruise, will greatly endanger 
the killing : But see here what we have said of the Chestnut. I have 
been told, that the very tops and palish-buds of this tree, when it first 
sprouts, though as late as April, will take hold of the ground, and grow 
to an incredible improvement ; but first they steep them in milk and 
saffron : however this attempt did not succeed with us, yet it may be 
propagated by a branch slipped off with some of the old wood, and set 
in February. An industrious and very experienced husbandman told 
me, that if they be transplanted as big as one's middle, it may be done 
safer than when younger : I do only report it. What they hint of putting 
a tile-shard under the nuts when first set, to divaricate and spread the 
roots, (which are otherwise apt to penetrate very deep,) 1 like well enough. 
It is certain they will receive their own cions being graffed, and that it 
does improve the fruit. The best compost is the strewing of ashes at the 
foot of tlie trees ; the salt whereof being washed into the earth, is the best 
dressing, whilst the juice of the fallen leaves, though it kill the worm, is 
noxious to the root. This tree does not refuse to thrive even among 
others, and in great woods, provided you shrip up the collateral arms. 

2. The Walnut delights in a dry, sound, and rich land, especially if it 
incline to a feeding chalk or marl ; and where it may be protected from 
the cold, (though it affects cold rather than extreme heat,) as in great pits, 
valleys, and highway sides ; also in stony-grounds^ if loamy, and on hills, 
especially chalky ; likewise in corn-fields. Thus, Burgundy abounds with 
them, wh ere they stand in the midst of goodly wheat-lands, at sixty and an 
hundred feet distance, and so far are they from hurting the crop, that they 
are looked upon as great preservers by keeping the ground warm, nor do 
the roots hinder the plough. Whenever they fell a tree, which is only 
the old and decayed, they always plant a young one near it ; and in 
several places betwixt Hanau and Frankfort in Germany, no young 
farmer whatsoever is permitted to marry a wife, till he bring proof that 
he hath planted, and is a father of such a stated number of Walnut-trees ; 
and the law is inviolably observed to this day, for the extraordinary 
benefit which this tree affords the inhabitants. In truth, were this timber 
in greater plenty amongst us, we should have far better utensils of all 
sorts for our houses, as chairs, stools, bedsteads, tables, wainscot, cabi- 
nets, &c. instead of the more vulgar Beech, subject to the worm, weak 
and unsightly ; but which, to counterfeit, and deceive the unwary, they 



BOOK I. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



169 



wash over with a decoction made of the green husks of Walnuts, &c. CHAP. 
I say, had we store of this material, especially of the Virginian, we ^^V" 
should find an incredible improvement in the more stable furniture of our 
houses, as in the first frugal and better days of Rome. 

Ilia domi natas, nostraque ex arbore mensas 
Tempora viderunt : hos lignum stabat in usus, 

Annosam si forte nucem dejecerat Eurus. juv. 

For if it had been cut in that season, it would not have proved so sound, 
as we show in our chapter of felling. It is certain, that the MenscB Nucinos 
were once in price even before the Citron, as Strabo notes ; and nothing 
can be more beautiful than some planks and works which I have beheld 
of it, especially that which comes from Grenoble, of all others the most 
beautiful and esteemed. 

S. They render most graceful avenues to our country dwellings, and 
do excellently near hedge-rows ; but had need be planted at forty or fifty 
feet interval, for they alfect to spread both their roots and branches. The 
Bergstras (which extends from Heidelberg to Darmstadt) is all planted 
with Walnuts ; for so, by another ancient law, the Bordurers were obliged 
to nurse up and take care of them, and that chiefly for their ornament 
and shade, so as a man may ride for many miles about that country under 
a continued arbour, or close walk ; the traveller both refreshed with the 
fruit and the shade, which some have causelessly defamed for its ill effects 
on the head^, for which the fruit is a specific and a notable signature ; 
although I deny not, but the scent of the fallen leaves, when they begin 
to be damped with lying, may emit somewhat a heady steam, which to 
some has proved noxious, but not whilst they were fresh and lively upon 
the trees. How would such public plantations improve the glory and 
wealth of a nation ! But where shall we find the spirit among our country- 
men ? Yes, I will adventure to instance in those plantations of Sir Richard 



s In Italy, sleeping under trees was thought a great luxury : 
— — — mollesque sub arbore somni 

Non absunt. virg. 
On which account we must suppose that they were choice in the kind of trees most friendly 
to people overcome with sleep. The shade of the Walnut was held to be particularly 
unwholesome. Gravis et noxia, etiam capiti hiunano, omnibusque juxta fatis. Pun. 
Volume L F f 



170 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. Stidolph, upon the Downs near Leatherhead in Surrey ; Sir Robert 
"^""^"^^ Clayton, at Morden, near Godstone, (once belonging to Sir John Evelyn,) 
and so about Cassaulton, where many thousands of these trees do cele- 
brate the industry of the owners, and will certainly reward it with infi- 
nite improvement, as I am assured they do already, and that very con- 
siderably ; besides, they afford an ornament to those pleasant tracts, 
for some miles in circumference. There was lately, and for ought 
I know, as yet, an avenue of four leagues in length, and fifty paces in 
breadth, planted with young Oaklings, as straight as a line, from the city 
of Utrecht to Amersfort, affording a most goodly prospect ; which reminds 
me of what Sorbiere tells in a sceptical discourse to Monsieur de Martel, 
speaking of the readiness of the people in Holland to furnish and main- 
tain whatsoever may conduce to the public ornament, as well as conve- 
nience, " that their plantations of these and the like trees, even in their 
" very roads and common highways, are better preserved and entertained 
" (as I myself have likewise been often an eye-witness) than those about 
" the houses and gardens of pleasure belonging to the nobles and gentry 
" of most other countries ;" and in effect it is a most ravishing object, to 
behold their amenities in this particular. " With us," says he, speaking 
of France, " they make a jest at such political ordinances, by running down 
" these public and useful ornaments, if haply some more prudent magis- 
" trate do at any time introduce them." Thus, in the reign of Henry IV. 
(during the superintendency of Mons. de Sully'') there was a resolution of 
adorning all the highways of France with Elms, &c. but the rude and 
mischievous peasants did so hack, steal, and destroy what they had begun, 
that they were forced to desist from the thorough prosecution of the de- 
sign ; so as there is nothing more exposed, wild, and less pleasant, than 
the common roads of France for want of shade, and the decent limits which 



*• This celebrated Statesman was a great encourager of agriculture ; lie styles it one of 
the breasts from whence the state must draw its nourishment. Instructing by precepts, 
and stimulating by rewards, he prevailed upon his countrymen to cultivate the art ; but 
their industry was of short duration : The public troubles soon put an end to Arts, Agri- 
culture, and Commerce. Colbert conceived a different notion of policy ; looking upon 
manufactures and commerce as the sinews of the state, he gave all possible encouragement 
to the Artizan and the Merchant, — ^but forgot that the Manufacturer must eat his bread 
at a moderate price. The Farmer being discouraged, the necessaries of life became dear ; 
~the public granaries were ill-stored ; — manufactures languished; — commerce drooped;— 
a numerous army soon consumed the scanty harvest ; and, in a short time. Industry fell a 
sacrifice to the Ul-judged policy of the Minister. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



171 



these sweet and divertisant plantations would have afforded. Not to omit CHAP. IX. 

that political use, as my Lord Bacon hints it, where he speaks of the sta- '^^V"^-' 

tues and monuments of brave men, and such as had well deserved of the 

public^ erected by the Romans even in their highways ; since, doubtless, 

such noble and agreeable objects would exceedingly divert, entertain, 

and take off the minds and discourses of melancholy people and pensive 

travellers, who have nothing but the dull and inclosed ways to cast their 

eyes on, are but ill conversation to themselves and others, and, instead 

of celebrating, censure their superiors. It is observed by a curious person, 

an industrious friend of mine, that the sap of this tree rises and descends 

with the sun's diurnal course, (which it visibly slackens in the night,) and 

more plentifully at the root on the south-side, though those roots cut on 

the north were larger, and less distant from the body of the tree ; and 

not only distilled from the ends, which were next the stem, but from 

those that were cut off and separated, which was never observed to 

happen in the Birch, or other sap-yielding trees. 

Mr. Oldenburgh* speaks of one of the present Kings in Europe, who "pwi. Trans, 
drinks much of the juice of this tree, and finds great benefit thereby. p. m. °' '''' 

4. What universal use the French make of the timber of this sole tree, 
for domestic affairs, may be seen in every room both of poor and rich. It 
is of singular account with the joiner, for the best grained and coloured 
wainscot; with the gunsmith, for stocks; with the coach-maker, for wheels 
and the bodies of coaches ; in New England, they make hoops and bows 
for want of Yew ; the drum-maker uses it for rims, the cabinet-maker ■ 
for inlaying, especially the firm and close timber about the root, which is 
admirable for flecked and chambleted works, some wood especially, as that 



To raise the island of Great Britain to its wonted splendour, and to give energy and 
vigour to the state, our Rulers, ere it be too late, should in the most public manner, en- 
courage the cultivators of the earth : 

In ancient times, tlie sacred plough employ'd 

The kings, and awful fatliers of mankind : 

And some, with whom compar'd your insect-tribes 

Are but the beings of a summer's day. 

Have held the scale of empire, rul'd the storm 

Of mighty war; then, with unweary'd hand, 

Disdaining little delicacies, seiz'd 

The plough, and greatly independent liv'd. Thomson. 

Ff 2 



172 A DISCOURSE 

which we have from Boulogne, New England, and Virginia, (where there 
are three or four sorts, differing in leaf, fruit, and stature,) very black of 
colour, and so admirably streaked, as to represent natural flowers, land- 
scapes, and other fancies. To render this wood the better coloured, 
joiners put the boards into an oven after the batch is forth, or lay them 
in a warm stable ; and when they work it, polish it over with its own 
oil very hot, which makes it look black and sleek, and the older it is, the 
more estimable ; but then it should not be put in work till thoroughly 
seasoned, because it will shrink beyond expectation. It is only not good 
to confide in it much for beams or joists, because of its brittleness, yet of 
which, it is observed to give timely notice, like the Chestnut, by the 
crackling before it breaks. Besides the uses of the wood, the fruit, with 
husk and all, when tender and very young, is used for preserves (being 
condited in separate decoctions) by our curious ladies. It makes also 
food and oil ; this last is of extraordinary use with the painter, in whites, 
and other delicate colours, also for gold-size and varnish ; and with this 
they polish walking-staves, and other works which are wrought in with 
burning. They fry with it in some places, and eat it instead of butter in 
Berry, where they have little or none good ; and therefore they plant 
infinite numbers of these trees all over that country : The use of it to burn 
in lamps is common there. The younger timber is held to make the 
better-coloured work, and so the Oak, but the older more firm and close, 
is finer chambleted for ornaments ; and the very husks and leaves being 
macerated in warm water, and that liquor poured on the carpet of walks 
and bowling-greens, does infallibly kill the worms, without endangering 
the grass'; not to mention the dye which is made of this lixive, to colour 
wool, woods, and hair, as of old they used it. The water of the husks 
is sovereign against all pestilential infections, and that of the leaves to 
mundify and heal inveterate ulcers. That which is produced of the thick 
shell, becomes best timber ; that of the thinner, better fruit. Columella 
has sundry excellent rules how to ascertain and accelerate the growth of 
this tree, and to improve its qualities ; and I am assured, that having 



' There is nothing peculiarly noxious to worms in the bitter decoction of Walnut leaves. 
Worms cannot bear the application of any thing bitter to their bodies, which is the reason 
that bitters, such as gentian, are the best destroyers of worms lodged in the bowels of 
animals. Worms are seldom observed in the intestines of the human body, excepting in 
cases where the bile is either weak, or deficient in quantity. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



173 



been graffed on the Ash, though others say no insition improves it, it cHAP. IX. 

thrives exceedingly, becomes a handsome tree, and, what is more 

estimable, bears its fruit within four years ; all which I recommend to the 

farther industrious. The green husk dried, or the first peeping red buds 

and leaves reduced to powder, serves instead of pepper, to condite meats 

and sauces. It is thought better to cudgel off the fruit, when dropping 

ripe, than to gather it by hand ; and that the husks may open, lay them 

by in a dry room, sometimes turning them with a broom, but without 

washing, for fear of mouldiness. In Italy they arm the tops of long poles 

with nails and iron for the purpose, and believe the beating improves the 

tree ; which I no more believe, than I do that discipline would reform 

a shrew. Those nuts which come easily out of their husks, should be 

laid to mellow in heaps, and the rest exposed in the sun, till the shells 

dry, else they will be apt to perish the kernels : some again preserve 

them in their own leaves, or in a chest made of Walnut-tree wood, 

others in sand, especially if you will preserve them for a seminary : Do 

this in October, and keep them a little moist, that they may spear, to be 

set early in February, Thus, after two years they may be removed at a 

yard asunder, cutting the tap-root and side-branches, but sparing the 

head ; and being two yards high, bud, or remove them immediately. Old 

nuts are not wholesome till macerated in warm and almost boiling water ; 

but if you lay them in a leaden pot, and bury them in the earth, so as 

no vermine can attack them, they will keep marvellously plump thewhole 

year about, and may easily be blanched \ In Spain they use to strew 

the gratings of old and hard nuts, first peeled, into their tarts and 

other meats. For the oil, one bushel of nuts will yield fifteen pounds of 

peeled and clear kernels, and that half as much oil, which the sooner it is 

drawn, is the more in quantity, though the drier the nut, the better in 

quality ; the lees, or marc of the pressing, is excellent to fatten hogs 

with. After the nuts are beaten down, the leaves should be sweeped 

into heaps, and carried away, because their extreme bitterness impairs 

the ground, and, as I am assured, prejudices the trees : The green 

husks boiled, make a good colour to dye a dark yellow, without any 

mixture ; and the distillation of its leaves with honey and urine, makes 



^ I have kept Filberts quite fresh, for near twelve months, by burying them in pots some 
feet under ground. The same may probably be done with Walnuts. 



174 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. hair spring on bald heads. Besides its use in the famous Salernitan anti- 
"^y^^ dote if the kernel, a little masticated, be applied to the bite of a sus- 
pected mad dog, and when it has lain three hours, be cast to poultry, 
they will die if they eat of it. In Italy, when a countryman finds any pain 
in his side, he drinks a pint of the fresh oil of this nut, and finds imme- 
diate ease. And more famous is the wonderful cure which the fungous 
substance, separating the lobes of the kernel, pulverized and drunk in 
wine, in a moderate quantity, did perform upon the English army in 
Ireland, afflicted with a dysentery, when no other remedy could prevail. 
The juice of the outward rind of the nut makes an excellent gargle for a 
sore throat : The kernel being rubbed upon any crack or chink of a 
leaky or crazy vessel, stops it better than either clay, pitch, or wax. In 
France they eat them blanched and fresh, with wine and salt, having first 
cut them out of the shells before they are hardened, with a short broad 
brass knife, because iron rusts ; and these they call Cerneaux, from their 
manner of scooping them out. Lastly, of the fungus emerging from the 
trunk of an old tree, and indeed some others, is made touchwood, artifi- 
cially prepared in a lixivium, or lye, dried, and beaten flat, and then 
boiled with salt-petre, to render it apter to kindle. The tree wounded 
in the spring, yields a liquor, which makes an artificial wine. For other 
species, see Mr. Ray's Dendrolog. tom. iii. p. 5, 6. 



AUia, ruta, pyra, et raphanus, cum theriaca, nux, 
Praestant antidotum contra lethale venenum. 



SCHOL. SALERN. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



175 



CHAPTER X. 

The SERVICED 

1. SoRBUS, the SERVICE-TREE (of which there are four sorts) is CHAP, 
raised of the chequers, or berries, which being ripe, that is rotten, ^"^^^ 
about September, and the pulp rubbed off clean from the stones in dry 
sand, and so kept till after Christmas, may be sown like Beech-mast, and 



°> Of the Wild Service there are numerous species : 

1. CRAT^GUS (ARIA) foliis ovatis insequaliter serratis, subtus tomentosis. Lin. Sp. 
PI. 681. Service with oval leaves, unequally sawed, a?id woolly on their under side. Crataegus 
folio subrotundo, serrato, subtus incano. Tourn. Inst. R. H. 633. Aria. Dalech. Hist. 202. 
— Sorbus Alpina. Bauh. Hist. i. p. 65. The white-beam, or white-leaf tree. 

This tree rises to the height of thirty feet, and grows naturally upon the chalky hills of Kent, 
Surrey, and Sussex. The young shoots have a brown bark covered with a mealy down.— 
The leaves are oval, of a light green colour upon their upper side, but white on their under, 
having many prominent transverse nerves running from the midrib to the border. They 
are unequally serrated. The flowers are produced at the end of the branches in May. — 
These grow upon mealy foot-stalks, and are succeeded by red berries, which ripen in 
autumn. 

2. CRATAEGUS ("torminalis) foliis cordatis septangulis : lobis infimis divaricatis. • 
Lin. Sp. Plant. 681. Service with heart-shaped leaves, having seven angles, whose lower lobes 
spread asunder. Crataegus foliis cordatis acutis : lacinulis acutis serratis. Hort. Cliff. 187. 
Mespilus, apii folio, sylvestris non spinosa, seu Sorbis Torminalis. Bauh. Pin. 454. 
Sorbus Torminalis et Cratasgus Theophrasti. Bauh, Hist. i. p 63. The maple-leaved 
service. 

This sort grows naturally in many parts of England, and is chiefly found upon strong soils ; 
it formerly grew in great plenty in Cane-Wood, near Hampstead ; and lately there were some 
young trees growing in Bishop's- Wood, near the same place: In many parts of Hertfordshire 
there are large trees now growing. It rises to the height of forty or fifty feet, with a large 
trunk, spreading at the top into many branches, so as to form a large head. The young 
branches are covered with a purplish bark, marked with white spots, and are garnished with 
leaves placed alternately, standing on pretty long foot-stalks ; these are cut into many acute 
angles, like those of the Maple-tree, and are near four inches long, and three broad in the 
middle, having several smaller indentures toward the top, of a bright green on their upper 
side, but a little woolly on their under. The flowers are produced in large bunches toward 
the end of the branches ; they are white, and shaped like those of the Pear-tree, but smaller. 



176 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. educated in the nursery like the Chestnut. It is reported that the sower 
^^^^^ never sees the fruit of his labour ; either for that it bears only being very 
old, or that men are commonly so before they think of planting trees : 
But this is an egregious mistake ; for these come very soon to be trees, 
and, being planted young, thrive exceedingly ; I have likewise planted 
them as big as my arm successfully. The best way is therefore to pro- 



and stand upon longer foot-stalks ; these appear in May, and are succeeded by roundish 
compressed fruit, which are shaped like large haws, and ripen late in autumn, when they are 
brown ; and if kept till they are soft, in the same way as medlars, they have an agreeable 
acid flavour. The fruit of this tree is sold in the London markets in autumn. 

3. CRATAEGUS C coccinba-J foliis ovatis repando-angulatis serratis glabris. Lin. Sp. 
PI. 682. Service with oval, smooth, sawed leaver, havmg angles. Mespilus, apii folio, Vir- 
giniana, spinis horrida, fructu ample coccineo. Pluk. Aim. 249. The virg in i ah thoru, com' 
monly called cockspur-thorn. 

The Virginian Cockspur-thorn will grow to about twenty feet high. It rises with an upright 
stem, irregularly sending forth branches, which are smooth, and of a brownish colour, 
spotted thinly with small white spots. It is armed with thorns that resemble a cockspur, 
which gives it the appellation of Cockspur-thorn, In winter, the leaf-buds appear large, 
turgid, and have a bold and pleasant look among others of different appearances. — 
In summer, this tree is very delightful. The leaves are oval, angular, serrated, smooth, and 
bend backwards. They are about four inches long, and three and a half broad; have five 
or six pair of strong nerves running from the midrib to the border; and die to a brownish 
red colour in the autumn. The flowers are produced in very large umbels, making a noble 
show in May, and are succeeded by large fruit, of a bright red colour. The principal 
varieties of this species are : The Cockspur-hawthorn with many thorns; the cockspur with 
no thorn ; the cockspur with eatable fruit. 

4, CRATiEGUS f CRUS galli ) foliis lanceolato-ovatis serratis glabris, j-amis spinosis. — 
Lin. Sp. 682. Service with oval, spear-shaped, sawed leaves, and prickly branches. Mespilus 
aculeata pyrifolia denticulata splendens, fructu insigni rutilo, Virginiensis. Pluk. Aim. 249. 
Virginian l'azarole. 

This species will grow to be near twenty feet high. The stem is robust, and covered with a light- 
coloured bark. The branches are produced without order ; are of a dark-brown colour, and 
possessed of a few long sharp thorns. The leaves are spear-shaped, oval, smooth, and 
serrated ; of a thickish consistence, and often remain on the tree the greatest part of the 
winter. Each separate flower is large; but as few of them grow together, the umbels they 
form are rather small. They come out in May, and are succeeded by large dark red- 
coloured fruit, which ripens late in the autumn. The Varieties of this species are ; the Pear- 
leaved Thorn ; the Plum-leaved Thorn, with very long strong spines, and large fruit ; the 
Plum-leaved Thorn, with short spines and small fruit. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



177 



pagate them of suckers, of which they put forth enough, as also of sets, CHAP. X. 
and may be budded with great improvement. They delight in reason- 
ably good stiff ground, rather inclining to cold than over hot; for 
in places which are too dry, they never bear kindly. The Torminalis 
(so called for its effects against gripings in the bowels) is the kind most 
frequent with us ; for those of the narrower and less-indented leaf, are 



5. CRATAEGUS (azarolus ) foliis obtusis subtrifidis sub-dentatis. Lin. Sp. PI. 683. — 
Service with obtuse, trifid, indented leaves. Mespilus Apii folio laciniato. C. B. P. 453. — 
Commonly called l'azarole. 

This grows naturally in Italy and the Levant, where the fruit is served up to table with the 
desert ; it has a strong stem, rising twenty feet high, having many birong irregular branches, 
covered with a light-coloured bark ; the leaves are in shape somewhat like those of the 
common Hawthorn, but are much larger, have broader lobes, and are of a aler colour ; the 
flowers come out in small clusters from the side of the branches, and are in shape like those 
of the common Hawthorn, but much larger; as is also the fruit, which when fully ripe, has 
an agreeable acid taste, for which it is esteemed by the inhabitants of the countries where 
it grows naturally. The following are varieties of this species ; Azarole, with strong thorns ; 
Azarole, with no thorns ; Jagged-leaved Azarole ; Oriental Medlar. 

6. CRAT^GUS CoxyacanthaJ foliis obtusis subtrifidis serratis. Lin. Sp. PI. 683. — 
Service with obtuse, trijid, sawed leaves. Mespilus, Apii folio, sylvestris spinosa, s. Oxyacantha. 
C. B. P. •iS*. The common white-thorn^ 

This useful and well-known species forms the hedges that surround the cultivated lands of this 
kingdom, making an impenetrable fence when orderly and regularly attended to. It has the 
following varieties : The Large Scarlet Hawthorn ; the Yellow Haw ; the White Haw ; the 
Maple-leaved Hawthorn ; the Double-blossomed Hawthorn ; and the Glastonbury Thorn. 
The Large Scarlet Hawthorn is a beautiful variety of the common Haw. Its fruit 
is exceedingly large, oblong> perfectly smooth, and of a bright scarlet. The Yellow Haw 
is a most exquisite plant. The buds at their first coming out in the spring, are of a fine 
jellow, and the fruit is of a golden colour. The tree is a great bearer, and retains its fruit 
all winter, which makes it acceptable in plantations of every kind. It was originally brought 

from Virginia, and no collection of hardy trees should be without it. The White Haw 

is but a paltry tree, when compared with the former. It hardly ever grows to the height 
of the Common Hawthorn, is an indiiferent bearer, and the fruit is small, and of a very bad 
white, — The Maple-leaved Hawthorn will grow to be near twenty feet high, and has very few 
thorns. The leaves are larger than the Common Hawthorn, resembling those of the Maple, 
and are of a whitish green colour. The flowers are produced in large bunches, in June, and 
are succeeded by a remarkable fruit, of a shining red, which looks beautiful in the winter. 
The Double-blossomed Hawthorn produces a full flower, and is one of the sweetest 
ornaments in the spring. Nature seems to have peculiarly designed this sort for the 
pleasure-garden ; for though it be the common Hawthorn only, with the flowers doubled, 
yet it may be kept down to what size the owner pleases ; so that it is not only suitable for 

wilderness quarters, shrubberies, and the like, but it is also proper for small gardens, where • 
Volume I. G g 



178 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. not so common in England as in France, bearing a sort of berry of the 
"^^^^ pear-shape, and is there called the Cormier. This tree may be graffed 
either on itself, or on the White-thorn and Quince. To this we might 
add the JNIespilus or Medlar, being an hard wood, and of which 
I have seen very beautiful walking-staves. But there is yet a 
rare kind of Service-tree, frequent in Germany, which we find not 
in our woods; and they speak of another sort, which bears poison- 
berries. 



a tree or two only can be admitted. These beautiful double flowers come out in large 
bunches, in May, and the tree is so good a bearer, that it often appears covered with them. 
Their colour, at Iheir first appearance, is a delicate white : They afterwards die to a faint 
red colour, and are frequently succeeded by small imperfect fruit. The Glastonbury Thorn 
differs in no respect from the Common Hawthorn, only that it sometimes flowers in the winter. 
It is said to have been originally the staff of Joseph of Arimathea. He, according to the 
tradition of the abbey of Glastonbury, attended by twelve companions, came over into 
Britain, and founded, in honour of the Blessed Virgin, the first Christian Church in this 
island. As a proof of his mission, he is said to have stuck his staff into the ground, which 
immediately shot forth and blossomed. By some credulous people this tree was long 
thought to put forth its blossoms on Christmas-day ; but this sanctified deceit is now sunk 
into discredit, even with the meanest of the vulgar. 

7. CRAT/EGUS C tomentosa ) foliis cuneiformi-ovatis serratis subangulatis subtus villosis, 
ramis spinosis. Lin. Sp. PI. 682. Service with oval, wedge-shaped, smved, angular leaves, 
hoary on their zmder-side, aiid prickly branches. Mespihis Virginiana, grossularia foliis. — 
Pluk. Phyt. 100. f. The gooseberry-leaved Virginian thorn. 

This sort grows naturally in North America; it has a slender shrubby stalk, rising about six 
or seven feet high, sending out many irregular branches, armed with long slender thorns, 
and garnished with short oval, wedge-shaped leaves, which are sawed on their edges, and 
are woolly on their under side; the flowers are small, proceeding from the side of the 
branches, standing sometimes single, and at other times two or three upon tlie same foot- 
stalk, having large leafy empalements, and are succeeded by small roundish fruit, with 
a large leafy umbilicus, which before was the empalement of the flower: The flowers appear 
the beginning of June, and the fruit ripens very late in the autumn. There is a variety of 
this species called the Carolina Hawthorn, which has longer and whiter leaves, large flowers 
and fruit, but without thorns. 

8. CRATjEGUS C viRiDis ) foliis lanceolato-ovatis subtrilobis serratis glabris, caule inermi. 
Lin. Sp. PI. 683. The green-leaved Virginian thorn. 

The stem and branches of this sort are altogether destitute of thorns. The leaves are 
lanceolate, oval, nearly trilobate, serrated, smooth, and green on both sides. The flowers 
are white and moderately large ; they come out about the end of May, and are succeeded 
by a roundish fruit which ripens late in autumn. It is a native of Virginia. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



2. The timber of the Sorb is useful for the joiner, and with which CHAP. X. 
I have seen a room curiously wainscotted : Also for the engraver of wood ^^V^^ 
cuts; for bows, pulleys, screws, mill and other spindles; for goads 
to drive oxen with ; for pistol and gun-stocks, and for most that the wild 
Pear-tree serves : being of a very delicate grain, it serves the turner for 
divers curiosities, and looks beautifully, and is almost everlasting ; when 
rubbed over with oil of linseed, well boiled, it is made to counterfeit 
Ebony, or almost any Indian wood, coloured according to art : Also 



All these species are propagated by sowing the seeds ; and the varieties are continued 

by budding them upon stocks of the white-thorn. In order to raise them from seeds, 

it is, by some, advised to sow them soon after they are ripe, in beds of fresh, light, rich 
earth. Let alleys be left between the beds, for the conveniency of weeding, and let 
the seeds be covered over with fine mould, about an inch deep. The summer following, 
the beds must be kept clean of weeds, and probably some few plants will appear : But 
this is not common in any of the sorts j for they generally lie till the second spring after 
sowing before they come up. At the time they make their appearance they must be 
watered, if the weather proves dry ; and this should be occasionally repeated all summer. 
They should also be constantly kept clean from weeds ; and in the autumn the strongest 
may be drawn out, and set in the nursery-ground, a foot asunder, in rows two feet distant 
from each other: while the weakest may remain until another year. During the time 
they are in the nursery, the ground between the rows should be dug every winter, and 
the weeds constantly hoed down in the summer ; and this is all the trouble they will 
require until they are planted out for good, which may be in two, three, or more years, 
at the pleasure of the owner, or according to the purposes for which they are wanted.— 
I rather recommend them to be raised as the Common Haw, in the following manner : 
The Common Haw, used for our fences in England, should, as soon as gathered, be buried 
in a dry trench in the month of October. To prevent their being heated, it will 
be proper to pick off any leaves that may have been gathered with them ; and for the 
same reason they should not lie above a foot thick in the trench. In this bed they should 
remain two winters and one summer. In the second spring they will begin to sprout, 
when they should be sown in beds, and kept clear from weeds. Some of those plants will 
be of size to plant out for hedges the first year, and, in the North of England, will sell for 
three shillings per thousand ; but it is much more judicious to draw them from the seed- 
bed, and transplant them into the nursery at six inches distance from each other. There 
they should remain two years, at the expiration of which time they will have got good 
roots. Such plants are cheaper at seven shillings a thousand than those from the seed-bed 
at half a crown. To this observation I earnestly request the attention of all persons 
engaged in making inclosures. 

In the Linnaean System the CRAT^GUS, or Wild Service, is of the class and order 
Icosandria Digynia, the flower having twenty or more stamina and two styles. 

G g 2 



180 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. it is taken to build with, yielding beams of considerable substance. 

"^"V"^ The shade is beautiful for walks, and the fruit not unpleasant, especially 
the second kind; of which, with new wine and honey, they make 
a conditum of admirable effect to corroborate the stomach ; and the fruit 
alone is good in dysenteries and lasks. The water distilled from the 
stalks of the flowers and leaves in B. M. and twice rectified upon fresh 
matter, is incomparable for consumptive and tabid bodies, taking an ounce 
daily at several times : Likewise it cures the green-sickness in virgins, 
and is prevalent in all fluxes ; distilled warm into the ears, it abates the 
pain ; the wood or bark contused, and applied to any green wound, heals 
it ; and the powder thereof, drank in olive-oU, consolidates inward 
ruptures : Lastly, the salt of the wood, taken in decoction of altheea 
to three grains, is an incomparable remedy to break and expel gravel". 
The Service gives the husbandman an early presage of the approaching 
spring, by extending its adorned buds for a peculiar entertainment, and 
dares peep out in the severest winters. 



" The fixed alkaline salt, produced from burnt vegetables, is similar in its nature and 
effects, whether made from the ashes of the Service-tree, the Oak, the Ash, or any 
other vegetable body. Such salts are generally supposed, by physicians, to be dissolvers 
of the stone, and capable of preventing the attraction of the stony particles towards each 
other, whereby the formation of gravel in the kidneys is prevented. 



4. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



181 



CHAPTER XI. 

The BLACK CHERRY". 

I RANK this amongst the forest berry-bearing trees (frequent in the cHAP. XI. 
hedges, and growing wild in Herefordshire, and many places ; for I speak ^^-^'V^ 
not here of our orchard Cherries, said to have been brought into Kent 
out of Flanders by Henry VIII.) chiefly from the suffrage of that 
industrious planter, Mr. Cook, from whose ingenuity and experience 
(as well as out of gratitude for his frequent mentioning of me in his 
elaborate and useful work) I acknowledge to have benefited myself; 
though I have also given no obscure taste of this pretty tree in book ii. 
chap. vii. 

It is raised of the stones of Black Cherries very ripe, (as they are 
in July,) endeavouring to procure such as are full and large ; whereof 
some, he tells us, are a little inferior to the Black Orleance, without 
graffing, and from the very genius of the ground. These gathered, the 
fleshy part is to be taken off" by rolling them under a plank in dry sand ; 
and when the humidity is off (as it will be in three or four days) reserve 
them in sand again, a little moist and housed, till the beginning 
of February, when you may sow them in a light gravelly mould, keeping 
them clean for two years, and thence planting them into your nurseries 
to raise other kinds upon, or for woods, copses, and hedge-rows, and for 
walks and avenues. In a dryish soil, mixt with loam, though the 



° The Wild Cherry-tree is titled PRUNUS (cerasvs ) umbellis subsessilibus, foliis 
ovato-lanceolatis conduplicatis glabris. Sp. PI. 679. J- Bauhine calls it Cerasus Sylvestris, 
fructu nigro et rubro. It belongs to the class and order Icomndria Monqgynia, having twenty 
or more stamina, and only one style. 

This tree is very proper to plant in parks, because it grows to a large size, and makes 
a beautiful appearance. In the spring, v/hen in full flower, it is highly ornamental. — 
It thrives in poor land much better than most other sorts. The French often plant it for 
avenues to their houses. They also cultivate it in their woods for hoops, for which 
purpose they esteem it much. The stones of the Wild Cherry are generally sown for 
raising stocks to graft, or bud the other sorts of Cherries upon, being of a quick growth, 
and considerable duration. In Scotland this tree is called the Geen Tree. The fruit 
is very pleasant. Many fine trees of this sort grow at Whixley, near Wetherby. 



182 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. bottom be gravel, tliey will thrive into stately trees, beautified with 
'^'^'^^ blossoms of a surprising whiteness, greatly relieving the sedulous bees, 
and attracting birds. 

If you sow them in beds immediately after they are excarnated, they 
will appear the following spring, and then, at two years shoot, be fit 
to plant out where you please ; otherwise, being kept too long ere you 
sow them, they will sleep two winters : And this is a rule which he 
prescribes for all sorts of stone-fruit. 

You may almost at any time remove young Cherry-trees, abating the 
heads to a single shoot. 

He recommends it for the copse, as producing a strong shoot, and 
as apt to put forth from the roots as the Elm, especially if you fell lusty 
trees : In light ground it will increase to a goodly tall tree, of which 
he mentions one that held above eighty-five feet in height. I have 
myself planted of them, and imparted to my friends, which have thrived 
exceedingly ; but till now did not insert it among the foresters : The 
virtues of the fruit of this Cherry-tree against the epilepsy, palsy, and 
convulsions, are in the spirits and distilled waters. Concerning its other 
uses, see the chapter above-mentioned. This tree affords excellent 
stocks for the budding and graffing of other Cherries on. 

And here I might mention the Bitter Cherry of Canada (though 
exceedingly unlike to ours,) which should yet be propagated for the 
incomparable liquor it is said to yield, preferable to the best lemonade, 
by an incision of two inches deep in the stem, and sloping to the length 
of a foot, without prejudice to the tree p. What is said of it, and of the 
IVIaple, in the late discovery of North America, may be seen in the 
late description of those countries. For other exotic species, vide Raii 
Dendrolog. torn. ii. p. 45, 46. 



P The Canada Cherry-tree is titled, PRUNUS fcAUADENSisJ floribus racemosis, foliis 
lato-lanceolatis rugosis utrinque pubescentibus. Lin. Sp. PI. 678. Cerasus pumila Canadensis, 
oblongo angusto folio, fructu parvo. Duham. Arb. 1. p. 149. 

This is a low shrub, seldom rising higher than four feet. It puts out lateral branches, 
which, lying near the ground, readily take root, by which it multiplies fast. The fruit 
resembles our small wild Cherry, but has a bitter taste, and is only agreeable to birds. It 
flowers at the same time with the other Cherry-trees, and ripens its fruit in July. It is 
easily propagated by layers, or it may be raised from the stones. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



183 



CHAPTER XII. 



The MAVLE\ 



.CER MINUS, the MAPLE, (of which authors reckon many kinds,) cHAP.XIl. 
was of old held almost in equal estimation with the Citron, especially 
the Pavonaceous, or Peacock's-tail Maple ; which is that sort so elegantly 
undulated, and crisped into variety of curls. It were a most laudable 



1 Of the Maple there are various species : 

1. ACER ( psEUDO'PLATANus ) foHis quinquelobis insequaliter serratis, floribus racemosis. 
Lin. Sp. PI. I4i95. The greater maple, or sycamore tree. 

This is a large growing tree, and adapted to increase the variety in our woods and fields. — 
It is very proper, if kept down, for underwood, because it shoots very fast from the stool, 
and makes excellent fuel. There is no tree more proper than this to form large plantations 
near the sea ; for the spray, which is prejudicial to most trees, seems to have no bad effect 
upon it. The Sycamore is not only a large timber-tree, but will stand long on the soil 
before it decays. This may be seen from what St. Hierom says, who lived in the fourth 
century after Christ, namely. That he saw the Sycamore-tree which Zaccheus climbed 
up, to see our Saviour ride in triumph to Jerusalem. The propagation of the Sycamore 
is very easy. In the autumn, when the keys are ripe, they may be gathered, and, in a few 
days after, sown, as has been directed for the Ash. In the spring the plants will appear, and 
make a shoot of about a foot by the autumn following, if the ground of the seminary 
be tolerably good, and they are kept clean from weeds. The spring after they come up, 
they should be planted in the nursery, in rows two feet and a half asunder, and their 
distance in the rows must be one foot and a half. Here they may remain till they are big 
enough to plant out for good, with no farther trouble than taking off unsightly side-branches, 
and such as have a tendency to make the tree forked, except digging between the rows, 
which must be done every winter, 

2. ACER CcampestreJ foliis lobatis obtusis eraarginatis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1497. Acer 
Campestre et minus. C. B. P. 431. The common maple. 

This does not grow to such a large size as the Sycamore, though its timber is of greater value. 
We meet with high encomiums on this wood among the ancients : Pliny gives us many ; 
and Virgil introduces Evander sitting on a Maple throne. The first-mentioned author highly 
commends the Maples growing in different parts of the world, and extols many of them for 
the remarkable fineness of their grain: Indeed the fineness of the grain ever governs the 
value of the wood. In former times, so mad were people in searching for the Bruscum 
of this tree, which often formed the exact representation of birds, beasts, &c. that they 
spared no expense in procuring it. When boards, big enough for tables, were found of this 



t 

184 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. attempt, if some would inquire out, and try the planting of such sorts 
as are not indigenous amongst us ; as is especially the German Aier, 
and that of Virginia, not yet cultivated here, but an excellent tree : And 
if this were extended likewise to other timber and exotic trees, it would 
prove of extraordinary benefit and ornament to the public, and were 
worthy even of the Royal care. They are all produced of seeds contained 



curious part of the wood, the extravagance of purchasers was incredible. We read of a table 
made of the Bruscum, which cost ten hundred thousand sesterces, and of another that cost 
upwards of fifteen hundred thousand. The Maple is seldom planted in such quantities 
together as to form woods ; but where they appear in plantations, they are generally cut 
down for underwood ; for which purpose they answer extremely well, as they shoot away 
from their stools very fast, and make tolerable fuel. The largest trees are generally found 
in hedge-rows, where they are occasionally to be met with all over the kingdom. The 
timber is used for several curious purposes, such as musical instruments, inlayings, &c. — 
For turnery ware it is superior to most other woods. The flower-buds of the Maple begin 
to open about the sixth of April, and the leaves are out about the eighteenth. The flowers 
are in full blow about the eleventh of May, and the seeds are ripe in the autumn. If a 
quantity of these trees are wanted, they may be raised in the same manner as the Sycamore, 
and managed accordingly. 

3. ACER CnegvndoJ foliis compositis, floribus racemosis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1497. Acer 
maximum, foliis trifidis et quinquefidis, Virginianum. Pluk. Aim. Virginian ash-leaved 

MAPLE. 

This is a quick grower, and becomes a large timber-tree. It is admirably adapted to cause 
a beautiful variety in our woods, though it is not proper to be planted in exposed places, 
the branches being subject to split when attacked by violent winds. The leaves are of a pale 
green colour, moderately large, and fall off pretty early in the autumn. The timber 
is extremely useful for turners ; and like the Norway Maple, serves all the purposes of the 
Sycamore. It is propagated by the keys, which this tree, though a native of Virginia, 
perfects in our country. It is also propagated by layers, or by planting the cuttings, in a 
moist situation, in the autumn. 

4. ACER (PLATANOiDKS ) foliis quinquelobis acuminatis acute dentatis glabris, floribus 
corymbosis. Lin. Sp. PI. I4961. The norjvay maple, with plane-tree leaves. 

This Maple will grow to a large timber'tree, and therefore should be raised to increase the 
variety in our plantations. The leaves are of a shining green colour, look beautiful 
all summer, and die to a golden yellow in the autumn. This tree perfects its seeds with 
us ; so that it may be raised in the same manner as the Sycamore, from the keys. It may 
also be propagated by layers and by cuttings ; which, if planted in a moist soil in autumn, 
will grow. These should be ordered in the nursery-way, as was before directed, and 
managed till they are of a sufficient size to be planted out for good. These trees being 
scarce, have been hitherto seldom planted, unless in wilderness-quarters for ornament. — 
But as it is a very quick grower, arrives at a great bulk, and answers all the purposes of the 
Sycamore, the raising it, even for this use, as well as for ornament and variety, should 



I 



OF FOREST-TREES. 185 

in the foUiacles and keys, or birds'-tongues (as they are called) like the xir 
Ash (after a year's interment) and, like to it, affect a sound and a dry ^»^V^ 
mould, growing both in woods and hedge-rows, especially in the latter ; 
which, if rather hilly than low, affords the fairest timber. It is also 
propagated by layers and suckers. By shredding up the boughs to 
a head, I have caused it to shoot to a wonderful height in a little time. 



not be neglected. — The Norway Maple is reckoned among our best trees for sheltering 
habitations. 

« 

5. ACER (ftVBRVMj foliis quinquelobis subdentatis subtus glaucis, pedunculis simplicissi- 
mis aggregatis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 14-96. Acer Virginianum folio majore, subtus argenteo 
supra viridi splendente. Pluk. Aim. The scarlet-flowering maple. 

Of this species of Maple there is a variety called Sir Charles Wager's Maple. Both of these 
are propagated for the sake of the flowers, which are of a scarlet colour, and come out early 
in the spring. The leaves are composed of five sharp-pointed lobes, which are slightly in- 
dented or serrated ; they are smooth, of a pale green on their upper surface, and white under- 
neath: they grow on long, simple, taper, reddish foot-sta'ks. The flowers come out in 
clusters from the side of the branches. They appear in April, and tlie seeds ripen in June. 
The sort called Sir Charles Wager's, produces larger clusters of flowers than the other ; on 
which account it is in most esteem. The red Maple grows plentifully in Pennsylvania, and 
delights in swampy situations, in which the Aider is commonly its companion. Of this wood 
the natives make plates, spinning-wheels, beds, and almost all sorts of wood-work. With 
the bark they dye worsted and linen of a dark blue colour: for which purpose it is first 
boiled in water, and some copperas, such as the hat-makers commonly make use of, is added, 
before the stuff is put into the boiler. The bark also makes a good black ink. There is a 
variety of this tree which they call the curled maple, the wood being marbled within; it 
is much used for ail kinds of joiner's work, and the utensils made of It are esteemed better 
than those of any other wood. This kind is not very frequent, and it is observed by the 
natives> that the outsides of curled Maples are often marbled, while their insides are not ; the 
tree is therefore cut very deep before it is felled, to see whether it has veins in every part. 

5. ACER Csacch-arihum) foliis quinquepartito-palmatis acuminato-dentatis. Lin. Sp. 
Plant. 1496. The sugar maple. 

This tree has some resemblance to the Norway Maple when the plants are young; but as they 
grow up, the leaves are more deeply divided, and their surfaces less smooth, so that they are 
then easily distinguished. From this tree the inhabitants of North America make a very 
good sort of sugar, by tapping the trees early in the spring, and boiling the juice, which, by 
the usual process, is converted into sugar. Dr. Benjamin Rush, Professor of the Institutes of 
Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, has given us a most circumstantial and correct 
account of the manner of obtaining sugar from this species of Maple. He says, "The 
Acer Saccharinum of Linnaus, or the Sugar Maple-tree, grows in great quantities in the 
Western counties of all the middle States of the American Union. Those which grow in 
New-York and Pennsylvania yield the sugar in a greater quantity than those which grow on 
Volume I. JJ Jl 



186 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. but if you will lop it for the fire, let it be done in January ; and indeed 
"^""^^"^ it is observed to be of noxious influence to the subnascent plants of other 
kinds, by reason of a clammy dew, which it sheds upon them ; and there- 
fore they should not be indulged in pollards or spreading trees, but to 
thicken underwoods and copses. The timber is far superior to Beech 



the waters of the Ohio. These trees are generally found mixed with the Beech, Fagus Ferru- 
ginea ; Hemlock, Pinus abies ; White and Water Ash, Fraiimis Americana ; the Cucumber- 
tree, Afagwo/za acz^^nzna^a ; Linden, Tilia Americana ; Aspen, Populus tremula ; Butter Nut, 
Jiiglans alba {oblonga) ; and Wild Cherry'tree, Prunus Firginiana of Linnxus. They 
sometimes appear in groves, covering five or six acres in a body, but they are more commonly 
interspersed with some or all of the forest-trees which have been mentioned. From thirty lo 
lifty trees are generally found upon an acre of ground. They grow only in the richest soils, 
and frequently in stony ground. Springs of the purest water abound in their neighbourhood. 
They are, when fully grown, as tall as the white and black Oaks, and from two to three feet 
in diameter*. They put forth a beautiful white blossom in the spring before they show a 
single leaf. The colour of the blossom distinguishes them from the Acer Rubrum, or the 
common Maple, which affords a blossom of a red colour. The wood of the Sugar Maple- 
tree is extremely inflammable, and is preferred upon that account by hunters and surveyors 
for fire-wood. Its small branches are so much impregnated with sugar, as lo afford support 
to the cattle, horses, and sheep of the first settlers during the winter, before they are able to 
cultivate forage for that purpose. Its ashes afford a great quantity of pot-ash, exceeded by 
few, or perhaps by none, of the trees that grow in the woods of the United States. The tree 
is supposed to arrive at its full growth in the woods in twenty years. It is not injured by 
tapping; on the contrary, the oflener it is tapped, the more s}rup is obtained from it. In 
this respect it follows a law of animal secretion. A single tree had not only survived, but 
flourished 2L[iev forty-ttwo tappings in the same number of years. The effects of a yearly 
discharge of sap from the tree, in improving and increasing the sap, is demonstrated from 
the superior excellence of those trees which have been perforated in an hundred places, by 
a small wood-pecker which feeds upon the sap. The trees, after having been wounded in 
this way, distil the remains of their juice on the ground, and afterwards acquire a black 
colour. The sap of these trees is much sweeter to the taste than that which is obtained from 
trees which have not been previously wounded, and it affords more sugar. From twenty- 
three gallons and one quart of sap, procured in twenty hours from only two of these dark- 
coloured trees, Arthur Noble, Esq. of the State of New York, obtained four pounds and 
thirteen ounces of good grained sugar. A tree of an ordinary size yields in a good season 
from twenty to thirty gallons of sap, from which are made from five to six pounds of sugar. 
To this there are sometimes remarkable exceptions. Samuel L,owe, Esq. a justice of peace 
in Montgomery county, in the State of New York, informed Arthur Noble, Esq that he had 
made twenty pounds and one ounce of sugar between the 14th and 23d of April, in the year 



• Baron La Hontan, in his voyage to North America, gives the followir)g account of the Maple-tree in 
Canada, After describing the black Cherry-tree, some of which he says are as tall as the loftiest oaks, 
and as big as a hogshead, he adds, "the Maple-tree is much of the same height and bulk. It bears no 
resemblance to that sort we have in Europe." 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



187 



for all uses of the turner, who seeks it for dishes^ cups, trays, trenchers, CH. XII. 
&c. as the joiner for tables, inlayings, and for the delicateness of the 
grain, when the knurs and nodosities are rarely diapered, which does 
much advance its price : Our turners will work it so thin, that it is 
almost transparent. It is commended for its lightness, under the name 



1789, from a single tree that had been tapped forseveral successive years before. From the in- 
fluence which culture has upon forest and other trees, it has been supposed, that by trans- 
planting the Sugar Maple-tree into a garden, or by destro) ing such other trees as shelter it 
from the rays of the sun, the quantity of the sap might be increased, and its quality much 
improved. I have heard of one fact which favours this opinion. A farmer in Northampton 
county, in the State of Pennsylvania, planted a number of these trees above twenty years 
ago in his meadow, from three gallons of the sap of which he obtains every year a pound of 
sugar. It was observed formerly, that it required Jive or six gallons of the sap of the trees 
which grow in the woods to produce the same quantity of sugar. The sap distils from the 
tuood of the tree. Trees which have been cut down in the winter for the support of the 
domestic animals of the new settlers, yield a considerable quantity of sap as soon as their 
trunks and limbs feel the rays of the sun in the spring of the year. It is in consequence of 
the sap of these trees being equally diffused through every part of them, that they live three 
years after they are girdled; that is, after a circular incision is made through the bark into the 
substance of the tree for the purpose of destroying it. it is remarkable that grass thrives 
better under this tree in a meadow, than in situations exposed to the constant action of the 
sun. The season for tapping the trees is in February, March, and April, according to the 
weather which occurs in these months. Warm days and frosty nights are most favourable 
to a plentiful discharge of the sap *. The quantity obtained in a day from a tree, is from 
five gallons to a pint, according to the greater or less heat of the air. Mr. Lowe informed 
Arthur Noble, Esq. that he obtained near three and twenty gallons of sap in one day, 
(April 14, 1789,) from the single tree which was before mentioned. Such instances of a pro- 
fusion of sap in single trees are however not very common. There is always a suspension 
of the discharge of sap in the night, if a frost succeed a warm day. The perforation in the 
tree is made with an axe or an auger. The latter is preferred, from experience of its advan- 
tages. The auger is introduced about three quarters of an inch, and in an ascending direc- 
tion, (that the sap may not be frozen in a slow current in the mornings or evenings,) and is 
afterwards deepened gradually to the extent of two inches. A spout is introduced about 
half an inch into the hole made by this auger, and projects from three to twelve inches 
from the tree. The spout is generally made of the Sumach, Rhus, or Elder, Sambucus Cana- 
densis, which generally grows in the neighbourhood of the sugar-trees. The tree is first 
tapped on the Jou//t-side ; when the discharge of its sap begins to lessen, an opening is made 



• The influence of the weather in increasing and lessening the discharge of the sap from trees is very 
remarkable. 

Dr. Tonge supposed long ago, (Philosophical Transactions, No. 68,) that changes in the weather of every 
kind might be better ascertained by the discharge of sap from trees than by weather-glasses. I have seen a 
journal of the effects of heat, cold, moisture, drought, and thunder. Upon the discharges from the sugar-trees ; 
which disposes me to believe that there is some foundation for Dr. Tonge's opinion. 

Hha 



188 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. Aier, and employed often by those who make musical instruments ; that 
^'^^ especially which grows in Friuli, Carniola, and Saltzburglandt. There 
is a larger sort which we call the Sycamore. 

2. Pliny's description of this lesser Maple, and the ancient value of it, 
is worth the citing. Ace?' operurn elegantid et suhtilitate Citro secundum. 



on the wor//i-side, from which an increased discharge takes place. The sap flows from four 
to six weeks, according to the temperature of the weather. Troughs, large enough to contain 
three or four gallons, made of white Pine or white Ash, or of dried water Ash, Aspen, Linden, 
Poplar, Zzrzoiiendron Tk/z/)2/era, or common Maple, are placed under the spout, to receive 
the sap, which is carried every day to a large receiver, made of apy of the trees before 
mentioned. From this receiver it is conveyed, after being strained, to the boiler. To pre- 
serve the sap from rain and impurities of all kinds, it is a good practice to cover the troughs 
with a concave board, with a hole in the middle of it. It remains yet to be determined 
■whether some artificial heat may be applied so as to increase the quantity and improve the 
quality of the sap. Mr, Noble informed me, that he saw a tree, under which a farmer had 
accidentally burnt some brush, which dropped a thick heavy syrup resembling melasses. 
This fact may probably lead to something useful hereafter. During the remaining part of 
the spring months, as also in the summer, and in the beginning of autumn, the Maple-tree 
yields a thin sap, but not fit for the manufactory of sugar. It affords a pleasant drink in 
harvest, and has been used instead of rum, in some instances, by those farmers in Connecticut, 
whose ancestors have left them here and there a Sugar Maple-tree, (probably to shade 
their cattle,) in all their fields. Mr. Bruce describes a drink of the same kind, prepared by 
the inhabitants of Egypt, by infusing the sugar-cane in water, which he declares to be " the 
most refreshing drink in the world *." There are three methods of reducing the sap to 
sugar : 

" 1. By freezing it. This method has been tried for many years, by Mr. Obadiah Scott, a 
farmer in Luzerne county in this State, with great success. He says that one-half of a given 
quantity of sap reduced in this way, is better than one-third of the same quantity reduced by 
boiling. If the frost should not be intense enough to reduce the sap to the graining point, 
it may afterwards be exposed to the action of the fire for that purpose. 



" Baron La Hontan gives the following account of the sap of the Sugar Maple-tree, when used as a drink, 
and of the manner of obtaining it. " Tlie tree yields a sap which has a much pleasanter taste than the best 
lemonade or cherrj'-water, and makes the wholesomest drink in the world. The liquor is drawn by cutting 
the tree two inches deep in the wood, the cut being made sloping to the length of ten or twelve inches ; at the 
lower end of this gash a knife is thrust into the tree slopingly, so that the water runs along the cut or gash, 
as through a gutter, and falls upon the Icnife, which has some vessel placed underneath to receive it. Some 
trees will yield five or six bottles of this water in a day ; and some inhabitants of Canada might draw twenty 
hogsheads of it in one day, if they would thus cut and notch all the Maple-trees of their respective plan- 
tations. The gash does no harm to the tree. Of this sap they make sugar and syrup, which are so valuable, 
that there can be no better remedy for fortifying the stomach ; it is but few of the inhabitants that have 
the patience to make them, for as common things are slighted, so there are scarce any body but children 
that give themselves the trouble of gashing these trees." 



OF FOREST-TkEES. 189 

Plura ejus genera. Album quod prcecipui candoris, vacatur Gallicum in cH. XIL 
Transpadana Italia, transque Alpes nascens. Alterumgenus crispo macu- ''•^V^ 
larum discursu : qui cum ecccellentior fuit, a similitudine caudce pavonum 
nomen accepit. " The Maple, for the elegancy and fineness of the wood, 
" is next to the very Citron itself There are several kinds of it, especially 
" the White, which is wonderfully beautiful ; this is called the French 



" 2. By spontaneous evaporation. The hollow stump of a Maple sugar-tree, which had been cut 
down in the spring, and which was found some time afterwards filled with sugar, first 
suggested this method of obtaining sugar to our farmers. So many circumstances of cold 
and dry weather, large and flat vessels, and, above all, so much time is necessary to obtain 
sugar, by either of the above methods, that the most general method among our farmers is to 
obtain it, 

"3. By boiling. For this purpose the following facts, which have been ascertained by many 
experiments, deserve attention. First, The sooner the sap is boiled, after it is collected 
from the tree, the better. It should never be kept longer than twenty-four hours before it is 
put over the fire. 5econc?/z/, The larger the vessel in which the sap is boiled, the more sugar 
is obtained from it. Thirdly, A copper vessel affords a sugar of a fairer colour than an iron 
vessel. 

"The sap flows into wooden troughs, from which it is carried and poured into store troughs or large 
cisterns, in theshapeofacanoeor large manger, made of white Ash, Linden, or while Pine, from 
which it is conveyed to the kettle in which it is to be boiled. These cisterns, as well as the kettle, 
are generally covered by a shed to defend the sap from the rain. The sugar is improved by ' 
straining the sap through a blanket or cloth, either before or after it is half-boiled. Butter, hog's 
Jard, or tallow, are added to the sap in the kettle to prevent its boiling oyer; and lime, eggs, or 
new milk, are mixed with it in order to clarify it. 1 have seen clear sugar made without the addi- 
tion of either of them. A spoonful of slacked lime, the white of one egg, and a pint of 
new milk, are the usual proportions of these articles, which are mixed with fifteen gallons of 
sap. In some samples which I have lately seen of Maple^sugar clarified with each of the above 
articles, that in which milk alone was used, had an evident superiority over the others, in 
point of colour. The sugar, after being sufficiently boiled, is grained and clayed, and after- 
wards refined, or converted into loaf-sugar. The methods of conducting each of these pro- 
cesses is so nearly the same with those which are used in the manufactory of West-India 
sugar, and are so generally known, that I need not spend any time in describing them. It 
has been a subject of inquiry, whether the Maple-sugar might not be improved in its qua- 
lity, and increased in its quantity, by the establishment of.boiling-houses in the Sugar Maple 
country, to be conducted by associated labour. From the scattered situation of the trees, the 
difficulty of carrying the sap to a great distance, and from the many expenses which must 
accrue from supporting labourers and horses in the woods, in a season of the year in which 
Nature affords no sustenance to man or beast, I am disposed to believe that the most pro- 
ductive method both in quantity and profit of obtaining this sugar, will be by the labour of 
private families. For a great number of years, many hundred private families in New York 
and Pennsylvania, have supplied themselves plentifully with this sugar during the whole 
year. I have heard of many families who have made from two to four hundred pounds in a 
year ; and of one man who sold six hundred pounds, all made with his own hands in one 



190 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. " JNIaple, and grows in that part of Italy that is on the other side of the 
"^"^^"^^ " Po beyond the Alps ; the other has a curled grain^ so curiously macu- 
" lated, that, from a near resemblance, it was usually called the Peacock's 
" Tail." Lib. xvi. c. xvi. He goes on to commend that of Istria, and 
that growing on the mountains, for the best : In the next chapter, he says, 
PulcherrimumveroestBruscim,multoqueexcellentiusetiamnumMolluscu^^^ 



season*. Not more knowledge is necessary for making this sugar tlian is required to make 
soap, cider, beer, soui-crout, &c. and yet one or all of these are made in most of the farm- 
houses of the United States. The kettles and /other utensils of a farmer's kitchen, will serve 
most of the purposes of making sugar, and the time required for the labour, (if it deserves 
that name,) is at a season when it is impossible for the farmer to employ himself in any species 
of agriculture. His wife, and all his children above ten years of age, moreover, may assist 
him in this business, for the profit of the weakest of them is nearly equal to that of a man> 
when hired for that purpose. A comparative view of this sugar has been frequently made 
with the sugar which is obtained from the West-India sugar-cane, with respect to its quality, 
pricej and the possible or probable quantity that can be made of it in the United States, each 
of which I shall consider in order. 
" 1. The quality of this sugar is necessarily better than that which is made in the West Indies. 
It is prepared in a season when not a single insect exists to feed upon it, or to mix its excre- 
tions with it, and before a particle of dust, or of the pollen of plants, can float in the air. 
The same observation cannot he applied to the West-India sugar. The insects and worms 
which prey upon it, and of course mix with it, compose a page in a nomenclature of natural 
history. I shall say nothing of the hands which are employed in making sugar in the West 
Indies, but, that men who work for the exclusive benefit of others, are not under the same 
obligations to keep their persons so clean, while they are employed in this work, as men, 
women, and children are, who work exclusively for the benefit of themselves, and who have 
been educated in the iiabits of cleanliness. The superior purity of the Maple-sugar is farther 
proved by its leaving a less sediment when dissolved in water than the West-India sugar. It 
has been supposed, that the Maple-sugar is inferior to the West-India sugar in strength. The 
experiments which led to this opinion, I suspect, have been inaccurate, or have been made 
with Maple-sugar prepared in a slovenly manner. I have exammed equal quantities, by 
weight, of both the grained and the loaf sugar, in hyson-tea, and in coffee, made in every 
respect equal by the minutest circumstances that could affect the quality or taste of each of 
them, and could perceive no inferiority in the strength of the Maple-sugar. The liquors 



• The follomng receipt, published by William Cooper, Esq. in the Albany Gazette, fully established this 
fact. 

" Received, Cooper's Town, April 30, 1790, of William Cooper, sixteen pounds, for six hundred and forty 
" pounds of sugar made with my own hands, without any assistance, in less than four weeks, besides attend- 
" ing to the other business of my farm, as providing fire-wood, taking care of the cattle, &c. 

« Witness, R. Smith. JOHN NICHOLLS." 

A single family, consisting of a man and his two sons, on the Maple-sugar lands, between the Delaware 
and Susquehannah, made 18001b. of Maple-sugar in one season. 



7 



OF FOREST-TREES. 191 

Tuber utrumgue arbor is ejus : Bruscum intortius crispum : Molluscum cH. XI T. 
simplicius sparsum. Et si magnitudinem mensarum caperet, haud dubie ^^^^^ 
prceferretur Citro. JVunc intra pugillaresjectorumque silicios,autlaminas, 
raro usu spectatur. E Brusco Jiunt et mensce nigrescentes. " The Brus- 
" cum, or Knur, is wonderfully fair, but the Molluscum is counted most 
" precious ; both of them knobs and swellings out of the tree. The 



which decided this question were examined at the same time, by Alexander Hamilton, Esq. 
Secretary of tlie Treasury of the United States, Mr. Henry Drinker, and several ladies, who 
all concurred in the above opinion. 

" 2. Whoever considers that the gift of the Sugar Maple-trees is from a benevolent Providence, 
that we may have many millions of acres in oqr country covered with them, that the tree 
is improved by repeated tappings, and that the sugar is obtained by the frugal labour 
of a farmer's family : and at the same time considers the labour of cultivating the sugar- 
cane, the capitals sunk in sugar-works, the first cost of slaves and cattle, the expenses 
of provisions for both of them, and in some instances, the additional expense of conveying 
the sugar to a market, in all the West-India Islands, will not hesitate in believing that the 
Maple-sugar may be manufactured much cheaper, and sold at a less price than that which 
is made in the West Indies. 

" 3. The resources for making a sufificient quantity of this sugar, not only for the consumption 
of the United States, but for exportation, will appear from the following facts. There are 
in the States of New York and Pennsylvania alone, at least ten millions of acres of land 
which produce the Sugar Maple-tree, in the proportion of thirty trees to one acre. Novy 
supposing all the persons capable of labour in a family to consist of three, and each person 
to attend 150 trees, and each tree to yield 5lb. of sugar in a season, the product of the 
labour of 60,000 families would be 1J5, 000,000 pounds of sugar; and allowing the inliabitants 
of the United States to compose 600,000 families, each of which consumed 200 pounds of 
sugar in a year, the whole consumption would be 120,000,000 pounds iri a year, which would 
leave a balance of 15,000,000 pounds for exportation. Valuing the sugar at 6-9uths 
of a dollar per pound, the sum saved to the United States would be 8,000,000 dollars 

by home consumption, and the sum gained by exportation would be 1,000,000 dollars. 

The only part of this calculation that will appear improbable, is, the number of families 
supposed to be employed in the manufactory of the sugar ; but the difficulty of admitting 
this supposition will vanish when we consider, that double that number of families are 
employed every yeac in making cider ; the trouble, risks, and expenses of which are 
all much greater than those of making Maple-sugar. But the profit of the Maple-tree is not 
confined to its sugar. It affords a most agreeable melasses, and an excellent vinegar. The 
sap which is suitable for these purposes, is obtained after the sap which affords the sugar has 
ceased to flow, so that the manufactories of these different products of the Maple-tree, by 
succeeding, do not interfere with each. other. The melasses maybe made to compose the 
basis of a pleasant summer beer. The sap of the Maple is moreover capable of affording 
a spirit; but we hope this precious juice will never be prostituted by our citizens to this 
ignoble purpose. Should the use of sugar in diet become more general in our country, 
it may tend to lessen the inclination or supposed necessity for spirits; for I have observed 
a relish for sugar in diet to be seldom accompanied by a love for strong drink. It is the 
sugar which is mixed with tea, which makes it so generally disagreeable to drunkards. But 



192 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. Bruscum is more intricately crisped, the Molluscum not so much ; 

■''^'V'"^'' "and had we trees large enough to saw into planks for tables, it 
" would be preferred before Citron ; but now they use it only for small 
" table-books, and, with its thin boards, to wainscot bed-testers with. 
" The Bruscum is of a blackish kind, with which they make tables." — 
Thus far Pliny. And such spotted tables were the famous Tigrin and 



a diet consisting of a plentiful mixture of sugar, has otiier advantages to recommend it, 
wliicli I shall briefly enumerate. 
" i. Sugar affords the greatest quantity of nourishment, in a given quantity of matter, of any sub- 
stance in nature; of course it may be preserved in less room in our houses, and may be con- 
sumed in less time, than more bulky and less nourishing aliment. It has this peculiar 
advantage over most kinds of aliment, that it is not liable to have its nutritious qualities 
affected by time or the weather: hence it is preferred by the Indians in their excursions 
from home. Tiiey mix a certain quantity of Maple-sugar, with an equal quantity of Indian 
corn, dried and powdered, in its milky state. This mixture is packed in little baskets, 
which are frequently wetted in travelling, without injuring the sugar. A few spoonfuls 
of it, mixed with half a pint of spring-water, afford them a pleasant and strengthening meal. 
From the degrees of strength and nourishment, which are conveyed into animal bodies 
by a small bulk of sugar, 1 conceive it might be given to horses with great advantage, when 
they are used in places, or under circumstances, which make it difficult or expensive 
to support them, with more bulky or weighty aliment. A pound of sugar, with grass or hay, 
I have been told, has supported the strength and spirits of a horse, during a whole day's 
labour in one of the West-India Islands. . A larger quantify given alone, has fattened horses 
and cattle, during the war before last, in Hispaniola, for a period of several months, in which 
the exportation of sugar, and the importation of grain, were prevented by the want 
of ships. 

" 2. The plentiful use of sugar in diet, is one of the best preventatives that has ever been 
discovered, of the diseases which are produced by worms. The Author of Nature seems 
to have implanted a love for this aliment in all children, as if it were on purpose to defend 
them from those diseases. I know a gentleman in Philadelphia, who early adopted this 
opinion, and who, by indulging a large family of children in the use of sugar, has preserved 
them all from the diseases usually occasioned by worms. 

"3. Sir John Pringle has remarked, that the plague has never been known in any country 
where sugar composes a matetial part of the diet of the inhabitants. I think it probable, 
that the frequency of malignant fevers of all kinds has been lessened by this diet, and that 
its more general use would defend that class of people, who are most subject to malignant 
fevers, from being so often afifected by them. 

" 4. In the numerous and frequent disorders of the breast, which occur in all countries, where 
the body is exposed to a variable temperature of weather, sugar affords the basis of many 
agreeable remedies. It is useful in weaknesses and acrid defluxions, upon other parts of the 
body. Many facts might be adduced in favour of this assertion. I shall mention only one, 
■which from the venerable name of the person, whose case furnished it, cannot fail of com- 
manding attention and credit. Upon my inquiring of Dr. Franklin, at the request of 
a friend, about a year before he died, whether he had found any relief from the pain of the 
stone, from the Blackberry jam, of which he took large quantities> he told me that he had. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



193 



Paiitherine curiosities ; not so called from being supported with figures CHAP. XII. 
carved like those beasts, as some conceive, and was in use even in '-^"^^^ 
our grandfathers' days, but from the natural spots and maculations ; 
Hem, quantis facultatibus cestimavere ligneas maculas ! as TertuUian cries 
out, de Pallio, cap. v. Such a table was that of Cicero, which cost him 
ten thousand sesterces ; such another had Asinius Gallus. That of King 



but that he believed the medicinal part of the jam resided wholly in the sugar; and as a 
reason for thinking so, he added, that he often found the same relief, by taking about half 
a pint of a syrup, prepared by boiling a little brown sugar in water, just before he went to 
bed, that he did from a dose of opium. It has been supposed by some of the early 
physicians of our country, that the sugar obtained from the Maple-tree, is more medicinal, 
than that obtained from the West-India sugar-cane ; but this opinion, I believe, is without 
foundation. It is preferable in its qualities to the West-India sugar only from its superior 
cleanliness. It has been said, that sugar injures theteelh; butthis opinion now has so few 
advocates, that it does not deserve a serious refutation. To transmit to future generations 
all the advantages which have been enumerated from the Maple-tree, it will be neces- 
sary to protect it by law, or by a bounty upon the Maple-sugar, from being destroyed by 
the settlers in the Maple-country, or to transplant it from the woods, and cultivate it in the 
old and improved parts of the United States. An orchard consisting of 200 trees, planted 
upon a common farm, would yield more than the same number of a pple-trees, at a distance 
from a market-town. A full grown tree in the woods yields five pounds of sugar a year. 
If a greater exposure of a tree to the action of the sun, has the same effects upon the 
Maple, that it has upon other trees, a larger quantity of sugar might reasonably be 
expected from each tree planted in an orchard. Allowing it to be only seven pounds ; then 
200 trees will yield 1400 pounds of sugar, and deducting 200 from the quantity for the con- 
sumption of the family, there will remain for sale 1200 pounds, which at 6-90ths of a dollar 
per pound, will yield an annual profit to the farmer of 80 dollars. But if it should be found 
that the shade of the Maple does not check the growth of grain any more than it does of 
grass, double or treble that number of Maple-trees may be planted on every farm, and 
a profit proportioned to the above calculation be derived from them. Should this mode 
of transplanting the means of obtaining sugar be successful, it will not be a new one. The 
sugar-cane of the West-Indies, was brought originally from the East-Indies, by the Portuguese, 
and cultivated at Madeira; from whence it was transplanted, directly or indirectly, to all 
the sugar-islands of the West-Indies. It were to be wished, that the settlers upon the sugar 
Maple-lands, would spare the sugar-tree in clearing their lands. On a farm of 200 acres of 
land, according to our former calculation, there are usually 6000 Maple-trees. If only 2000 
of those original and ancient inhabitants of the woods were suffered to remain, and each tree 
were to afford only five pounds of sugar, the annual profit of such a farm in sugar alone, at 
the price formerly mentioned, would amount to 666 dollars; 150 dollars of which would 
probably more than defray all the expenses of making it, and allow a plentiful deduction 
for family use. According to the usual annual profit of a sugar Maple-tree, each tree is 
worth to a farmer*, two dollars and 2-3ds of a dollar ; exclusive therefore of the value of the 



• In America, by "farmer," is generally understood the « proprietor," who farms his own land. EDiToa. 

Volume I. I i 



194 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. Juba was sold for fifteen thousand, and another, which I read of, valued 
•^y"^ at one hundred and forty thousand H. S. which at about three halfpence 
sterling, arrives to a pretty sum ; and yet that of the Mauritanian 
Ptolemie was far richer, containing four feet and a half diameter, three 
inches thick, which is reported to have been sold for its weight in gold : 
Of that value they were, and so madly luxurious the age, that when 



farm, the 2000 sugar Maple-trees alone confer a value upon it of 5,333 dollars and 30-90ths 
of a dollar. It is said, that the sugar-trees, when deprived of the shelter and support they 
derive from other forest-trees, are liable to be blown down, occasioned by their growing in a 
rich, and of course a loose soil. To obviate this, it will only be necessary to cut otf some of 
their branches, so as to alter the centre of gravity, and to allow the high winds to have an 
easy passage through them. Orchards of sugar Maple-trees, which grow with an original 
exposure of all their parts to the action of the sun, are not liable to this inconvenience." 

7. ACER (pENNSYhVANicuM ) foMis trilobis acuminatis, serrulatis, floribus racemosis. 
Lin. Sp. PI. 1496. The mountain maple. 

The body of this tree is slender, and is covered with a whitish bark. It sends forth several red 
branches, and grows about fifteen feet high. The leaves are three-lobed, pointed, and are 
unequally and sharply serrated. The flowers come out in longish bunches in the spring; 
they are of a greenish yellow colour, and are succeeded by seeds, which (like those of the 
Norway Maple) generally fall off before they are ripe. This species is a native of Penn- 
sylvania. 

8. ACER ("tartaricum ) foliis cordatis indivisis serratis, lobis obsoletis, floribus racemosis. 
Lin. Sp. PI. 1495. The Tartarian maple. 

This species of Maple grows to the height of about twenty feet. The leaves are heart-shaped, 
undivided, and their edges are unequally serrated. The flowers come out from the wings of 
the leaves in long bunches. They appear early in the spring, and are sometimes succeeded 
by ripe seeds in our gardens. 

9. ACER (monspessvlanvm ) foliis trilobis integerrirais glabris. Lin. Sp. PI. 1497. 
Acer trifolium. C. B. P. 431. The montpelier maple. 

The Montpelier Maple grows to about twenty feet high, and is a very beautiful tree. The 
leaves are composed of three lobes of a shining green, and of a thickish substance ; they re- 
tain their verdure later in the year than most of the other sorts. The flowers come out 
in the spring, but have very little^ beauty ; their blow is soon over, and they are sometimes 
succeeded by seeds which come to perfection in our gardens. 

10. ACER (creticumJ foliis trilobis integerrirais subtus pubescentibus. Lin. Sp. 
PI. 1497. The Cretan maple. 

This grows to about the height of the former. The leaves are downy, composed of three lobes, 
and grow opposite to each other on long downy foot-stalks. The flowers come out in the 
spring, and are very seldom succeeded by good seeds in England. It is a native of the East. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



195 



the men at any time reproached then" wives for their wanton expensiveness CHAP.XII. 
in pearl and other rich trifles, they were wont to retort, and turn the """^""y^^ 
tables upon their husbands *. The knot of the timber was the most 
esteemed, and is said to be much resembled by the Female Cypress : — 
We have now, I am almost persuaded, as beautiful planks of some 
Walnut-trees near the root ; and of Yew, Ivy, Rose-wood, Ash, Thorn, 



The Maple, in the Linnaean System, is of the class and order Polygamia Monoecia. 

I have already observed that the common Maple and Sycamore are best raised from 
seed ; but as the seeds of the foreign kinds do not ripen in this country, they should be 
procured from abroad. — In a cool and shady part of the seminary let beds of fine mould 
be marked out, about four feet in breadth, and with pi-oper alleys. Upon these let the 
foreign seeds be regularly sown, sifting over them about half an inch of the finest mould. 
When the plants come up, they should be kept clean from weeds, and frequently watered ; 
and this work must be duly attended to all summer. The spring following, the strongest 
may be drawn out, and planted in the nursery, in rows two feet asunder, and at the 
distance of a foot from each other in the rows, leaving the others in the seminary to gain 
sti'ength. The succeeding spring they must receive the same culture ; and they may re- 
main in the nursery, with no other trouble than keeping the ground clean from weeds 
in the summer, digging between the rows in the winter, and taking off all strong and 
irregular side-shoots, till they are planted out for good. 

Notwithstanding these are the general laws of raising all the species of Maple from 
foreign seeds, the culture varies with respect to the Scarlet-flowering kind, when the seeds 
are gathered at home. This species brings its seeds to maturity the beginning of June, in 
our gardens. They should be then gathered, and after having lain a few days to harden, 
they should be sown in beds of the finest mould, and covered only a quarter of an inch 
deep. The beds should be hooped, and covered with mats in scorching weather; but 
when it is rainy and cloudy, they should always be uncovered. In about a month or six 
weeks, many of the plants will appear ; but the far greater part will not come up till the 
following spring. When the summer-plants first show themselves, they should hai'dly ever 
feel the full beams of the sun. The beds must be constantly covered with the mats in the 
day-time, unless cloudy and rainy weather happens, when they should always be un- 
covered ; during the night no mats must be put over the plants, that they may have all 
the benefit of the refreshing dews, air, and cooling showers. When these latter do not 
fall, watering must be duly attended to ; and this is all the trouble they will require for 
the first summer in the seed-bed. The summer following, they may be exposed to all 

• The common expression of turning the tables upon a person, seems to have originated from what Pliny 
has remarked upon the Citron, and Bruscum of the Maple : " Confines ei Mauri, quibus plurima arbor Citri, 
et mensarum insania, quas feminae viris contra Margaritas regerunt." This extravagance in Tables is 
ridiculed by many of the Poets : 

Extremoque epulas mensasque petivimis orbe. ircAN. 

lis 



196 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. and Olive, I have seen incomparable pieces ,• but the great art was in 
-^y^^ the seasoning and politure : for which last, the rubbing with a man's 
hand, who came warm out of the bath, was accounted better than any 
cloth, as Pliny reports. Some there be who contend, this Citron was 
a part near the root of the Cedar, which, as they describe it, 
is oriental and very odoriferous ; but most of the learned favour the 
Citron, and that it grew not far from our Tangier, about the foot of 
Mount Atlas, whence haply some industrious person might procure 
of it from the INIoors : and I did not forget to put his then Excellency 
my Lord H. Howard (since, his Grace the Duke of Norfolk) in mind 
of it ; who, I hoped, might have opportunities of satisfying our curiosity ; 
that by comparing it with those elegant woods, which both our own 
countries and the Indies furnish, we might pronounce something in the 
controversy : But his not going so far into the country, and the disorder 
which happened at his being there, quite frustrated this expectation. 
Here I think good to add, what honest Palissy philosophises, after his 



weather, when they will only require being kept clean from weeds, and watered in dry 
seasons. The succeeding spring the strongest may be set out in the nursery-way, like the 
former seedlings. 

By layers also all the species of this genus may be propagated ; though that method 
is never practised for the Common Maple and the Sycamore. The young shoots may be 
laid down in the autumn, winter, or early in the spring. By the autumn following they 
will have struck root, and become good plants ; when the strongest should be set out 
in the places where they are to remain ; whilst the weakest may be planted in the nursery, 
like the seedlings, for a year or two, to gain strength. 

Maples raised from seed will grow faster, and arrive at greater height, than those 
raised from layers ; but they will not produce such quantities of flowers ; which makes the 
latter method more eligible for those who want these plants for a low shrubbery. 

By cuttings also these trees may be propagated : But this method is chiefly practised 
on the Ash-leaved and Norway Maples, which more readily take root this way. The 
cuttings should be the bottom part of the last year's shoot : They should be taken off early 
in October, and planted in rows in a moist shady place. The spring and summer 
following, they must be duly watered, as often as dry weather makes it necessary, and 
be kept clean from weeds. By the autumn they will be fit to remove into the nursery ; 
though if the cuttings are not planted too close, they may remain in their . situation for 
a year or two longer, and then be set out for good, without the trouble of previously 
planting them in the nursery. 

Maples may likewise be propagated by budding, grafting, and inarching: But the other 
methods being more eligible, these are never practised, except for the variegated sorts. — 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



197 



plain manner^ about the reason of those pretty undulations and chamfers, CHAp.xiI. 
which we so frequently find in divers woods, which he takes to be the ^"^V^^ 
descent, as well as ascent of moisture : For what else, says he, be- 
comes of that water which we often encounter in the cavities, when many 
branches divaricate, and spread themselves at the tops of great trees, 
especially pollards, unless, according to its natural appetite, it sink into 
the very body of the stem through the pores ! For example ; in the 
Walnut, you shall find, when it is old, that the wood is admirably 
figured, and, as it were, marbled ; and therefore much more esteemed 
by the joiners, cabinet-makers, inlayers, &c. than the young, which 
is paler of colour, and without any notable grain, as they call it : For 
the rain distilling along the branches, when many of them break out 
into clusters from the stem, sinks in, and is the cause of these marks, 
since we find it exceedingly full of pores : Do but plane off a thin chip, 
or sliver, from one of these old trees, and interposing it betwixt your 
eye and the light, you shall observe it to be full of innumerable holes. 



This latter is to be continued no otherwise than by budding it on stocks of the Common 
Sycamore ; for the seeds when sown, afford us only the Common Sycamore in return. 

In order to propagate the varieties by budding, let some plants of the Common 
Sycamore, one year old, be taken out of the seminary, and set in the nursery in rows a 
yard asunder, and the plants about a foot and a half distant from each other in the rows : 
Let the ground be kept clean from weeds all summer, and be dug, or, as the gardeners 
call it, turned in, in the winter ; and the summer following the stockg will be of a proper 
size to receive the buds, which should be taken from the most beautifully-striped branches. 
The best time for this work is August ; because, if it is done earlier, the buds will shoot 
the same summer ; and when this happens, a hard winter will infallibly kill them. 
Having, therefore, budded your stock the middle or latter end of August, with the eyes 
or buds fronting the north, early in October take off the bass matting, which before this 
time, will have confined the bark and pinched the bud, but not so as to hurt it much. 
Then cut off the stock just above the bud, and dig the ground between the rows. The 
summer following, keep the ground clean from weeds ; cut off all natural side-buds from 
the stock as they come out ; and by autumn, if the land be good, your buds will have shot 
forth, and formed themselves into trees four or five feet high. They may then be removed 
into the places where they are designed to remain. 

The Striped Norway Maple should be budded on stocks of its own kind ; for on these 
they take best. Variegated plants are recommended to be planted in poor, hungry, 
gravelly, or sandy soils, to feed the disease which is supposed to occasion these beautiful 
stripes : but these trees show their stripes in greater perfection in a good soil : The plant, 
though in sickness, has the appearance of health ; the shoots are vigorous and strong ; the 
leaves are large, less liable to be hurt by insects ; and the stripes appear more perfect, 
natural, and delightful, than those on stunted trees growing on a poor soiL 



198 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. much more perspicuous and ample by the appHcation of a good 
^^'^T^ microscope* But above all, notable for these extravagant damaskings 

• Not in- _ _ _ o <3 

vented in Pa- 

and characters, is the Maple; and it is notorious that this tree is very full 
lissy'sdays. of brauches from the root to its very summit, by reason that it produces 
no considerable fruit : These arms being frequently cut, the head is more 
surcharged with them, which spreading like so many rays from a centre, 
form that hollowness at the top of the stem whence they shoot, capable 
of containing a good quantity of water every time it rains ; this sinking 
into the pores, as was before hinted, is compelled to divert its course, 
as it passes through the body of the tree, wherever it encounters the 
knot of any of these branches which were cut off from the stem ; 
because their roots not only deeply penetrate towards the heart, but are 
likewise of themselves very hard and impervious; and the frequent 
obliquity of this course of the subsiding moisture, by reason of these 
obstructions, is, as may be conceived, the cause of those curious works 
which we find remarkable in this and other woods, whose branches 
grow thick from the stem. JBut for these curious contextures^ consult 
rather the learned Dr. Grew. We have showed how by culture, and 
stripping up, it arrives to a goodly tree ; and surely there were some 
of them of large bulk, and noble shade, that Virgil should choose it for 
the court of his Evander (one of his worthiest Princes, in his best 
of Poems) sitting on his Maple-throne;' and when he brings .^neas 
into the royal cottage, he makes him this memorable comphment : 
" Greater," says great Cowley, " than ever was yet spoken at the 
Escurial, the Louvre, or Whitehall :" 

■ Haec, in quit, limina victor 

Alcides subiit ; haec Ulum regia cepit. 

Aude, hospes, contemnere opes, et te quoque dignum 

Finge Deo, rebusque veni non asper egenis. 

This humble roof, this rustic court, said he, 
Receiv'd Alcides crown'd with victory : 
Scorn not, great guest, the steps where he has trod. 
But contemn wealth, and imitate a god. 



Solioque invitat acerno. ^neid viii. 1.178. 



7 



OF FOREST-TREES. 199 

The Savages in Canada, when the sap rises in the Maple, by an CHAP.XIL 
incision in the tree, extract the liquor; and having evaporated a 
reasonable quantity thereof, (as suppose seven or eight pounds) there 
will remain one pound as sweet and perfect sugar as that which is 
gotten out of the cane ; part of which sugar has been for many years 
constantly sent to Rouen in Normandy, to be refined : There is also 
made of this sugar an excellent syrup of Maiden-hair and other capillary 
plants, prevalent against the scurvy ; though Mr. Ray thinks otherwise, 
by reason of the saccharine substance remaining in the decoction. — ■ 
See Synops. Stirp. et Dendrolog. de Acere. 



200 



A DISCOURSE 



CHAPTER XIIL 
The SYCAMOBEk 

I. 1. The sycamore, or wild FIG-TREE, falsely so called, is our 
Acer majus, or broad-leaved Mas, one of the Maples, and is much more 
in reputation for its shade than it deserves ; for the honey-dew leaves, 
which fall early, like those of the Ash, turn to mucilage, producing noxious 
insects, and putrefy with the first moisture of the season, so as they con- 
taminate and mar our walks ; and are therefore, by my consent, to be 
banished from all curious gardens and avenues. It is raised of the keys 
in the husk, as soon as ripe, and they come up the first spring ; also 
by roots and layers, in ground moist, not over wet or stiflf, and must be 
governed as other nursery plants. 

2. There is in Germany a better sort of Sycamore than ours, (nor are 
ours indigenous) wherewith they make saddle-trees, and divers other 
things of use. Our own is excellent for trenchers, cart and plough 
timber, being light, tough, and no^- much inferior to Aijh itself; and 
if the trees be very tall and handsome, they are the more tolerable 
for distant walks,, especially where other better trees prosper not so 
well, or where a sudden shade is expected : Some commend them to 
thicken copses, especially in parks, as least apt to the spoil of deer, and 
that it is good fire- wood. This tree being wounded, bleeds a great part 
of the year ; the liquor emulating that of the Birch, which happening 
to few of the rest, (that is, to bleed winter and summer,) I therefore 
mention : The sap is sweet and wholesome, and in a short time yields 
sufficient quantity to brew with, so as when it is used, one bushel of 
malt will make as good ale, as four bushels with ordinary water^ upon 
Dr. Tongue's experience. Phil. Trans, vol. iv. fol. 917. 



= This is the ACER ('pseudo-pl^ t^nus^ foliis quinquelobis inaequaliter serratis, floribus 
racemosis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1495. It has already been described in the last chapter. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



201 



CHAP. XIV. 
The LIME\ 

] .TiLIA, the LIME-TREE, or LINDEN, is of two kinds ; the male CH. XIV. 



(which some allow to be but a finer sort of Maple) is harder, fuller of knots, 
andof a redder colour, but producing neither flower nor seed, so constantly 
and so mature with us, as does the female, whose blossom is also very 



' Of this GENUS there are only two species: 

1. TILIA (EVROPJEA ) floribus nectario destitutis. Lin. Sp. PI. 733. The hiUE, or 

LINDEN TREE. 

The Lime is a handsome picturesque tree, forming a beautiful cone by its branches, and main- 
taining its body taper and straight ; and as it will grow to a large size, it is very proper to 
be planted for avenues : It also makes a beautiful detached object in parks and open places. 
Although the leaves fall off very early in the autumn, yet it immediately makes amends 
by exhibiting its beautiful aijd red twigs ; for which reason the red-twigged Lime should 
always be preferred for these purposes. It has also other properties to recommend itself 
to such situations : The shade is excellent ; the branches are so tough, as seldom to be broken 
by the winds ; and if any of them should want occasionally to be taken off, no tree heals its 
wounds sooner. It will sometimes run away from its colour, and grow with greet) branches, 
but that is not often the case. — The Lime is best raised from seecjs ; for those trees raised 
from layers or from cuttings never grow so handsome, or so fast, as those raised in the 
seminary. Let the seeds be gathered from thriving healthy trees of the true red-twigged 
kind, and then by far the greatest part of the young plants will be of that sort. The seeds 
being ripe in October, let a dry day be made choice of for gathering theni. As these grow 
at the extremity of the branches, it would be tedious to gather them with the hand ; thev 
may therefore be beaten down by a long pole, having a large winnowing sheet, or some such 

thing, spread under the tree to receive them. When yoq have got a sufficient quantity, 

spread them in a dry place for a few days ; then, having procured a spot of rich garden- 
ground, and having the mould made fine by digging and raking, let it be raked out of the 
beds about an inch deep : These beds may be four feet wide, and the alleys a foot and 
a half. After the mould is raked out, the earth should be gently tapped dowr) wjtli the back 
of the "spade, to make it level ; then the seeds should be sown, at about an inch asunder, 
all over the bed, gently pressing them down, ^nd covering them aboijt ar» inch deep. . ■ 
In the spring of the year the young plants will make their appearance ; when they should be 
constantly kept clear from weeds, and gently watered in very dry weather. In this seminary 
they may stand for two years, when they will be fit to plant in the nursery ; at which )imd 
they should be carefully taken up, their roots shortened, and the ycung side-branches, if thev 
have shot out any, taken off. Tliey must be planted in the nursery-ground in rows, two 
feet and a half asunder, and one foot and a half distant in the rows. There they may stand 
till they are of a proper size to be planted for good ; observing always to dig between the rows 
every winter, and constantly to keep the ground free from weeds. The Lime-tree will grow 




Volume I. 



Kk 



202 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK r. odoriferous, perfuming the air, and the leaf larger ; the wood is likewise 
thicker, of small pith, and not obnoxious to the worm ; so as it seems 
Theophrastus de Plant, lib. iii. cap. x. said true, " That though they 
were of both sexes, yet they totally differed as to their form." We send 

well on almost any soil or situation ; but if planted in a rich and loamy earth, wherein, like 
most other trees, it chiefly delights, the growth of it will be almost incredible. This should 
be a great motive to the planting of this tree ; which will, in a very few years, sufficiently 
reward the industrious planter. Of this species there are three or four varieties. 

2. TILIA fAMERicANA ) florlbus nectario instructis. Lin. Sp. PI. 733. The AUEmcAti 

LIME-TREE. 

Of this species there are a few varieties, which indeed differ very little in appearance from those 

of our common European sorts, the leaves of both being heart-shaped. There is a larger, 

and a smaller-leaved sort. Their edges are finely serrated, and end in acute points.— 
These beautiful cordated leaves, that thus run into acute points, have their under 
surface of a paler green than their upper. The larger-leaved kind is by far the finest 
sort; and the branches vary from all others of this genus, in that they are covered with 
a dark-brown bark. The flowers are furnished with nectaria ; whereas those of the common 
Lime-tree have none : They are produced in bunches, like the common sort, and are 
succeeded by seeds contained in coriaceous capsules.— The American sorts, as well as our 
own, should be raised from seeds; but when we have not the conveniency of procuring the 
seeds from abroad, a few plants must be obtained for stools. These should be planted in a 
light rich soil, if such can be had, for there they will shoot the strongest ; though almost any 
other will do. After these plants have stood a year or two, they should be headed near the 
ground. They will then shoot out many young branches, which may be layered in the 
autumn; though if they stand two years, there will be greater plenty of young twigs for 
layering; for every shoot of the first summer will the year following divide into several. 
When the layering of these is to be performed, which ought to be in the autumn, the strong 
two-year's shoot must be brought down : and if they are stiff and do not bend readily, they 
must have a gentle splash with the knife near the bottom ; a sHt should be made at the joint 
of every one of the youngest twigs, and their ends bent backwards that the slit may be kept 
open. This being done, the mould must be levelled among the layers, and the ends of them 
taken off to within one eye of the ground. The business is then done; and the autumn fol- 
lowing they will all have good roots, many of which will be strong, and fit to plant out for 
good, whilst the weakest may be removed into the nursery-ground, in rows, to gain strength. 
All the sorts of Lime-trees will also grow from cuttings; but this is found to be an uncertain 
method ; and if it were more certain, still plants raised by them or layers, are not near so 
good as those from seeds. 
The Lime-tree is of the class and order Polyandria Momgynia, there being in every 

flower numerous stamina, and only one style. 

The flowers begin to open about the fifteenth of May, and are, in full blow by the 
thirteenth of July, when they appear of a white colour, and have a very fragrant smell. 
These are very grateful to bees, for which reason Virgil, in his beautiful description of the 
industrious Corycian, places the Lime and the Pine in the neighbourhood of his hives. 

^et spumantia cogere pressis 

Mella favis ; illi tilis, atque uberrima pinus. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



203 



commonly for this tree into Flanders and Holland ; which indeed grows CH. xiv. 
not so naturally wild with us, to our excessive cost, while our woods do, 
in some places, spontaneously produce them ; and though of somewhat a 
smaller leaf, yet altogether as good, and apt to be civilized and made 

The leaves begin to open about the twelfth of April, are quite out by the eighteenth 
of the same month, and fall off very early in the autumn. 

The timber of the Lime-tree is used by the carver, it being a soft, light woodj as also 
by architects for framing the models of their buildings j the turners likewise use it for 
making light bowls, dishes, &c. but it is too soft for any strong purposes. 

These trees will continue growing, and remain sound a great number of years ; and, 
if planted in a good loamy soil, will grow to a considerable bulk. Mr. Miller measured 
a Lime which was near ten yards in girth two feet above the ground, and was then 
in a very thriving condition ; and Sir Thomas Brown mentions one of these trees which 
grew in Norfolk, that was sixteen yards in circumference a foot and a half above the 
ground, and in the least part of the trunk eight yards and a half. It was in height thirty 
yards. There is a large Lime-tree now growing in the heights above Villars, a seat 
belonging to Mr. Graffenred of Berne, near Morat. It measures 36 feet in circumference, 
and in height is nearly 90 feet. In the pleasure-ground of the Palace at Bishopthorpe, 
belonging to the Archbishop of York, there is a noble walk of stately Lime-trees, which, 
as far as I know, exceeds any thing of the kind in this island : 
a pillar'd shade 

High over- arched. ■ farad.ise lost. 

It was customary with the ancients to crown themselves with garlands of roses and 
other flowers during their convivial entertainments, and these were ai'tfully bound together 
with slips of the inner rind of the Lime-tree. 

Ebrius incinctis philyra conviva capillis 

Saltat, et imprudens utitur arte meri. pv. fast. 

Displicent nexae philyra coronas. hor. 

Suetonius relates that Nero spent upwards of 4,000,000 of sesterces, or about 30,000/. 
at one supper, in roses. But it should be remarked that it was then the fashion, as now, 
to procure them prematurely, or out of season. 

Mitte sectari rosa quo locorum 

Sera moretur. hor . 

Dat festinatas, Cassar, tibi bruma coronas. 

Quondam veris erant, nunc tua facta rosa est. mart,' 

When the Emperor Julian entered Constantinople, he found the whole Imperial 
Court immersed in the deepest luxury. Mamertinus tells us, that they had their 
miracula avium, longinqui maris pisces, alieni teraporis poma, sestivse nives, and hyhernce 
rosoe. 

Kk2 



204 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. more florid : From thence I have received many of their berries ; so as it 
"'"^'y'^ is a shameful neghgence, that we are not better provided with nurseries of 
a tree so choice and universally acceptable : For so they may be raised 
either of the seeds in October, or, with better success, by the suckers and 
plants, which are treated after the same method, and in as great abund- 
ance as the Elm, like to which it should be cultivated. You may know 
whether the seeds be prolific, by searching the husk : if on biting, 
or cutting it asunder, it be full and white, and not husky, as sometimes 
we find the foreigners, the seeds are good. Be sure to collect your seed 
in dry weather, airing it in an open room, and reserving it in sand (as has 
been taught) till the middle of February, when you may sow it in pretty 
strong, fresh, and loamy mould, kept shaded and moist^ as the season re- 
quires, and clear of weeds ; and at the period of two years plant them out, 
dressed and pruned, as discretion shall advise. But not only by the 
suckers and layers at the roots, but even by branches lopped from the 
head, may this tree be propagated ; and peeling off a little of the bark, 
at a competent distance from the stem or arms, and covering it with loam 
mingled with rich earth, they will shoot their fibres, and may be season- 
ably separated : But to facilitate this and the like attempts, it is advisable 
to apply a ligature above the place when the sap is ascending, or beneath 
it, when it (as they say vulgarly) descends. From June to November 
you may lay them ; the scrubs and less erect do excellently to thicken 
copses, will yield lusty shoots and useful fire-wood. 

2. The Lime-tree affects a rich, feedingj loamy soil; in such ground 
its growth will be most incredible for speed and spreading. It may be 
planted as big as one's leg, and its head topped at about six or eight feet 
bole; thus it will become, of all other, the most proper and beautiful for 
walks, as producing an upright body, smooth and even bark, ample leaf, 
sweet blossom, the delight of bees, and a goodly shade at the distance of 
eighteen or twenty-five feet. It is also very patient of pruning ; but 
if it taper over much, some of the collateral boughs should be cut off 
to check the sap, which is best to be done about Midsummer ; and to 
make it grow upright, take off the prepondering branches with discretion ; 
and so may you correct any other tree, and redress its obliquity. The 
root, in transplanting, should not be lopped ; and this, says Mr. Cook. 
is a good lesson for all young-planted trees. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 205 

3. The Prince Elector did lately remove very great Lime-trees out cH. XIV. 
of one of his forests at Heidelberg, to a steep hill, exceedingly exposed '"-^^'V^^ 
to the heat of the sun, and that in the midst of summer : they grow- 
behind that strong tower on the south-west and most torrid part of the 
eminence, being a dry, reddish, and barren earth, yet do they prosper 

rarely well : But the heads were cut off, and the pits into which they 
were transplanted, were (by the industry and direction of Monsieur 
De Son, a Frenchman, and an admirable mechanician, who himself 
related it to me) filled with a composition of earth and cow-dung, which 
was exceedingly beaten, and so diluted with water, as it became almost 
a liquid pap : It was into this that he plunged the roots, covering the 
surface with the turf: A singular example of removing so great trees 
at such a season, and therefore taken notice of here expressly. Other 
perfections of the tree, besides its unparallelled beauty for walks, are, 
that it will grow in almost all grounds ; that it lasts long ; that it soon 
heals its scars ; that it effects uprightness ; that it stoutly resists a storm ; 
that it seldom becomes hollow. 

4. The timber of a well-grown Lime is convenient for any use that 
the Willow is ; but much to be preferred, as being stronger and yet 
lighter ; whence Virgil calls them Tilias leves ; and therefore fit for 
yokes They are turned into boxes for the apothecaries. Columella 
commends Arculas Tiliaceas. And because of its colour and easy 
working, and that it is not subject to split, architects make with 
it models for their designed buildings ; and the carvers in wood use 
it not only for small figures, but large statues and entire histories in bas 
and high relieve : witness, besides several more, the lapidation of 
St. Stephen, with the structures and elevations about it ; the trophies, 
festoons, fruitages, encarpia, and other sculptures in the frontoons, 
friezes, capitals, pedestals, and other ornaments and decorations, of 
admirable invention and performance, to be seen about the choir 
of St. Paul's and ether churches, royal palaces, and noble houses in city 
and country ; all of them the works and invention of our Lysippus, 
Mr. Gibbon, comparable, and, for ought appears, equal to any thing 
of the ancients. Having had the honour (for so I account it) to be the 



u 



et tilia ante jugo leviS' 



206 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. first who recommended this great artist to his Majesty Charles 1 1. 

-""'^-y^**^ I mention it on this occasion with much satisfaction. With the twigs, 
they make baskets and cradles, and of the smoother side of the bark, 
tablets for writing ; for the ancient Philyra is but our Tilia, of which 
Hunting affirms he saw a book made of the inward bark, written about 
a thousand years since. Such another was brought to the Count of 
St. Amant, Governor of Arras, 1662, for which there were given eight 
thousand ducats by the Emperor ; it contained a work of Cicero, 
De ordinanda Republica, et de inveniendu' orationum eccordiis ; a piece 
inestimable, but never published, and nov/ in the library at Vienna, after 
it had formerly been the greatest rarity in that of the late Cardinal 
Mazarine. Other papyraceous trees are mentioned by West- Indian 
travellers, especially in Hispaniola, Java, &c. whose inward bark not 
only exceeds our largest paper for breadth and length, and may 
be written on both sides, but is comparable to our best vellum. — 
Bellonius says, That the Grecians made bottles of the Tilia, which they 
finely resined within-side. It makes pumps for ships, also lattices for 
windows : Shoemakers use dressers of the plank to cut leather on, as 
not so hard as to turn the edges of their knives ; and even the coarsest 
membrane, or slivers of the tree growing betwixt the bark and the main 
body, they now twist into bass ropes ; besides, the truncheons make 
a far better coal for gunpowder than those of Alder itself: Scriblets for 
painters' first draughts are also made of its coals : and its extraordinary 
candour and lightness, has dignified it above all the woods of our forest, 
in the hands of the Right Honourable the White-staff Officers of his 
Majesty's Imperial Court. The royal plantations of these trees in the 
parks of Hampton-Court and St. James's, will sufficiently instruct any 
man how these (and indeed all others which stand single) are to be 
governed and defended from the injuries of beasts, and sometimes more 
unreasonable creatures, till they are able to protect themselves. — 
In Holland, where the very highways are adorned with them, they 
frequently clap three or four deal-boards, in manner of a close trunk, 
about them, but it is not so well ; because it keeps out the air, which 
should have free access and intercourse to the bole, and by no means 
be excluded from flowing freely about them, or indeed any other trees, 0 
provided they are secured from cattle, and the violence of impetuous 
winds, &c. as his Majesty's are, without those close coffins in which the 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



207 



Dutchmen seem rather to bury them alive : In the mean time, is there 
a more ravishing or delightful object, than to behold some entire streets 
and whole tov^ns planted vi^ith these trees^ in even lines before their 
doors, so as they even seem like cities in a w^ood ? This is extremely 
fresh, of admirable effect against the epilepsy, for which the delicately 
scented blossoms are held prevalent, and screen the houses both from 
winds, sun, and dust ; than which there can be nothing more desirable 
where streets are much frequented : For thus 

Stat Philyra ; baud omnes formosior altera surgit 
Inter Hamadryadas ; molissima, Candida, laevis, 
Et viridante coma et benevolenti flora superba, 

Spargit odoratam late atque sequaliter umbratn. couleii, lib. vi. PL 

The stately Lime, smooth, gentle, straight, and fair> 
(With which no other Dryad can compare^) 
With verdant locks, and fragrant blossoms deck'd. 
Does a large, even, odorate shade project. 

DirSB and curses, therefore, on those inhuman and ambitious tyrants, 
who, not contented with their own dominions, invade their peaceful 
neighbours, and send their legions, without distinction, to destroy and 
level to the ground such venerable and goodly plantations, and noble 
avenues. Irreparable marks of their barbarity ! 

The distance for walks, as we said, may, in rich ground, be twenty- 
five feet ; in more ordinary soil, eighteen or twenty. For a most 
prodigious tree of this kind, see book iii. chap. iii. 

The berries, reduced to powder, cure the dysentery, and stop bleeding 
at the nose. The distilled water is good against the epilepsy, apoplexy, 
vertigo, trembling of the heart, and gravel. Schroder commends 
a mucilage of the bark for wounds, and of the leaves and bark he 
says, urinam ac menses cieni. I am told the juice of the leaves fixes 
colours. 




208 A DISCOURSE 



CHAP. XV. 



The POPLAR, ASPEN, and ABELE \ 

BOOK I. 1. PoPULUS, the POPLAR. I begin this second class, according to 
our former distribution, with the Poplar, of which there are several kinds. 
White, Black, &c. (which in Candy it is reported bears seed,) besides 
the Aspen, The White, (famous heretofore for yielding its umbram 



* The Poplar is the most valuable of all the aquatics^ whether we consider the quickness 
of its growth, or the magnitude to which it will arrive : And although this tree is styled an 
aquatic, yet it will grow exceedingly well, and attaiii an extraordinar};' bulk in a few 
years, on ground tolerably dry. 

There are five species of Poplar, though I shall recommend only three to be planted for 
timber. These are, the White Poplar, known by the name of the Abele-tree ; the Biack 
Poplar, so called from a black circle perceived at the centre of its trunk when felled ; and 
the Trembling Poplar, or Aspen-ti'ee. 

1. POPULUS (alba ) foliis subrotundis, dentato-angulatis subtus toijientosis. Lin. Sp. 
PI. 1463. Poplar-tree with roundish leaves, which are angularly indented, and downy on their 
under side. Populus alba majoribus foliis. C. B. P. 429. White poplar with larger 
LEAFES, commonly called the Abele-tree. 

The trunk of the White Poplar is straight, and covered with a smooth whitish bark. The 
leaves are about three inches long, and stand upon foot-stalks about an inch in length : they 
are indented at the edges ; are of a dark green on the upper surface, but white and woolly 
underneath. They are usually quite out by the eighteenth of April. 

2. POPULUS Cnigra ) foliis deltoidibus acuminatis serratis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1464. Poplm 
with pointed, sawed leaves, shaped like the letter Delta. Populus nigra. C. B. P. 429- The 

BLACK POPLAR. 

The leaves of the Black Poplar are not so large as the former ; their colour is a pleasant green ; 
they are heart-shaped, and appear about the 22d of April. 

3. POPULUS ( TREMvLA ) foliis subrotundis, dentato-angulatis utrinque glabris. Lin. 
Sp. PI. 1464. Poplar-tree with roundish leaves, which are angularly indented, and smooth on 
both sides. Populus tremula. C. B. P. 429. Trembling poplar, or aspen-tree. 

The . leaves of the Aspen are smaller than those of the Black Poplar. These stand upon 
long slender foot-stalks, which renders it, of all the other sorts, the most tremulous ; they are 
roundish, and smooth on both sides ; but do not make their appearance before the beginning 
of May. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



209 



liospitalem) is the most ordinary with us, to be raised in abundance by cHAP. XV. 
every set or slip. Fence the ground as far as any old Poplar-roots extend, '^-'^'Y'^^ 
and they will furnish you with suckers innumerable, to be slipped from 
their mothers, and transplanted the very first year ; but if you cut down 
an old tree, you shall need no other nursery. When they are young, 
their leaves are somewhat broader and rounder, as most other trees are, 
than when they grow aged. In moist and boggy places they will flourish 
wonderfully, so the ground be not spewing ; but especially near the 

margins and banks of rivers, \_Populus in Jluviis ] and in ]ow, sweet, 

and fertile grounds, yea, and in the drier likewise. Truncheons of seven 



. The flowers of the Poplar are male and female, on distinct plants, and the male flowers 
have eight stamina, which show that it belongs to the class and order Dioecia Octandria. 
Both the male and female flowers are arranged into an amentum. In the beginning of AprU 
they make their appearance ; though the Aspen-flowers will be full blown by the twenty- 
second of March. The male flowers appear first, and the female about a week after. 
The catkins are about three inches long. Soon after the female flowers come out, the 
males drop off; and in about five or six weeks the female will have ripe seeds, which are 
dispersed by the winds to a considerable distance. 

The propagation of the Poplar-tree is very easy. It will grow from cuttings, suckers, 
and truncheons ; though I by no means approve of the planting of truncheons, as often 
practised on boggy places ; because I have always observed, that plantations of these 
luxuriant trees, attempted to be raised in this manner, have been frequently stocked ; and 
that the most promising trees have never equalled, in goodness or beauty, such as had been 
raised in the nursery. 

In order, tlierefore, to obtain a quantity of Poplars, proper to be planted in avenues or 
clumps, by the sides of rivulets, bogs, or any other places where they are desired, you must 
get a piece of ground double dug for the nursery. If the trees are intended for a watery 
situation, this nursery-ground should be pretty near it ; but if they are designed for pasture- 
grounds, fields, or such as have no more than a common degree of moisture, the soil of the 
nursery should be proportionably drier. 

Spring is the best season for planting the cuttings ; though they will grow if planted in 
any of the winter months. They should all be vigorous shoots of the last year, or at least 
not older than two years. These cuttings should be one foot and a half in length ; and 
must be planted in the nursery-ground in rows, a yard asunder, and at a foot and a half 
distant from each other in the rows. They should be planted a foot in the ground, and 
the other part should remain above, to send forth the leading shoot. Now, in order to 
have one leading shoot only, the plant should be carefull}' looked over in summer, and all 
young side-branches nipped off*, in order to encourage the leading branch. After this, no 
farther care need be taken of them than keeping them clean of weeds, and digging between 
the rows in winter, till they have attained a proper size to plant out for good, which will 

Volume I. LI 



210 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I, or eight feet long, thrust two feet into the earth, (a hole being made with 
^^''"^^ a sharp hard stake, filled with water, and then with fine earth pressed 
in, and close about them,) when once rooted, may be cut at six inches 
above ground ; and thus placed at a yard distant, they will immediately 



be in two years, if they are designed to form small woods, or spinneys, in boggy or watery 
grounds. 

If they are wanted as standards, for fields, sides of rivers, &c. they may remain in the 
nursery another year, when they may be taken out and planted ; and in a few years they 
■will make a surprising progress, so as to be worth, in about twenty or thirty years, as many 
shillings a-piece. 

In order to form a coppice of these trees, if the land be not so boggy but that it may be 
ploughed, a crop of oats or other grain may be got off it the preceding year of planting; 
and in the autumn it would be a still greater advantage, if, just before the planting, it was 
to be ploughed again ; as by this operation it would be rendered lighter, and the weeds, &c. 
would be buried. Having prepared the ground, let the two-year old plants be taken out 
of the nursery, and planted one yard asunder. It will be proper to continue hoeing the 
weeds down for the first year : Afterward, they will require no farther trouble till the time 
of cutting, which may be in seven years from the first planting ; and every four or five 
years after, they may be cut for poles, fire-wood, &c. The quickness of the growth of 
these trees, and their value when cut, even for these purposes, greatly augment the value 
of the land planted with them : Nay, by this means, boggy or marshy ground will produce 
more per acre than the best pasture or feeding land ; a consideration which should sti- 
mulate every gentleman possessed of a large quantity of such sort of land, which brings 
him in very little, to improve in this manner. If the ground for these plantations be so 
boggy as not to admit of ploughing and sowing, then the planter must be contented with 
taking the plants out of the nursery, and setting them in holes at the aforesaid distance ; and 
they will thrive surprisingly even in this way. 

Every gentleman desirous of having plantations of large trees of the sorts I have recom- 
mended, should plant them as before directed, at one yard asunder ; and when their heads 
begin to interfere and incommode one another, every other tree should be taken away, 
which will sell for large poles ; and the remainder should be left to grow for timber. But 
though I advise every other tree to be taken away, I would not have this caution too 
strictly observed : I only mean to have the weakest and least thriving eradicated ; and if 
two fine luxuriant trees should stand together, with others less promising on each side, let 
the weakest be taken up. And thus they should continue to be thinned as often as they 
grow too close, till you have a plantation of timber Poplar-trees. 

I must not forget to give another precaution to the Poplar planter, viz. That after these 
trees are planted out for good, he should never suffer a tree to be stripped up, nor even a 
side-branch taken off ; for by doing this, the progress of the tree will be stopped for some . 
years ; whereas, if these are permitted to remain, they will powerfully attract the nutritious 
juices of the atmosphere, and help to supply the trunk, as well as themselves, in such plenty, 
as to contribute surprisingly to the increase of the tree. Boards made of Poplar are 



OF FOREST-TREES. 211 



furnish a kind of copse; But in case you plant them of rooted trees, or cjjAP XV. 
smaller sets, fix them not so deep; for though we bury the truncheons 
thus profound, yet is the root which they strike commonly but shallow. 
They will make prodigious shoots in fifteen or sixteen years ; but then 



durable, if kept dry, and the poles make tolerable spars after the bark has been carefully 
removed. The bark, when permitted to remain upon poles of soft wood, harbours 
animalculae, which in time eat away the strength of the timber. 

4. POPULUS ('b^i.s^m/fjsb^ J foliis subcordatis denticulatis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1464'. The 

CAROLINA POPLAR. 

This Poplar grows to a large timber-tree, and has a peculiar majesty. It is an exceedingly swift 
grower, insomuch that it has been known to shoot ten feet in the space of one summer. The 
bark is smooth, and of a whitish colour ; tiiough that on the young shoots is of a fine green. 
The young shoots have five angles. The bark of which these are composed, being extended 
by the future growth, leaves the traces of these angles on the older branches ; and this gives 
the tree in winter a particular look; lor at the base of each bud they curve over and meet. 
Thus, between every bud, there are formed figures like niches of public buildings, with an 
upright in the middle, at the top of which, like an ornament, is seated the bud for the future 
shoot. Of all the trees in a collection, no one more agreeably entertains us by its leaves than 
this, whether we consider the colour, figure, or size. Their colour is a light shining green, 
which is heightened in the autumn, by the strong mid-rib, and the large veins that issue from 
it, turning to a red ; the lesser veins also being in some degree affected, occasion upon the 
same leaf an agreeable contrast. They are heart-shaped, and notched at the edges. But 
the size of the leaves, gives this tree its greatest dignity ; These majestic leaves are placed alter- 
nately on the branches ; though, as the tree advances in height, they diminish in size. This 
species shoots late in the autumn ; and the young shoots have their ends often killed in hard 
winters, which is an imperfection, as it causes the tree to have a very bad look in the spring, 
both before and when the leaves are putting out : These, however, when they appear, make 
ample amends for the former defect. The flowers afford no beauty, being only catkins, like 
other Poplars. 

5. POPULUS (heterophylla) foliis cordatis primoribus villosis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1464. 

The VIRGINIA POPLAR. 

This species of Poplar also forms a large timber-tree. The branches are numerous, veined, 
and angular. The leaves are heart-shaped, broad, slightly serrated, and downy on their first 
appearance. The flowers come out in loose catkins, and make little show ; they appear early 
in the spring, and are succeeded by numerous downy seeds, which are carried by the winds 
to a considerable distance. 

" Arise, ye winds, 'tis now your time to blow, 
"And aid the work of nature : On your wings 
"The pregnant seeds conveyed, shall plant a race 
" Far from their native soil." 

The Lombardy, or Po Poplar, is another species of this tree ; but there are none in this 

L 1 2 



212 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. the heads must by no means be diminished, but the lower branches may, 
"■^^^''^'^ yet not too far up ; the foot should also be cleansed every second year : 
This for the White. The Black Poplar is frequently pollarded, when as 
big as one's arm, eight or nine feet from the ground, as they trim them 
in Italy for their Vines to serpent and twist on ; and those they poll, or 
head, every second year, sparing the middle, straight, and thrivingest 
shoot, and at the third year cut him also. There be yet that condemn 
the pruning of this Poplar, as hindering its grow^th. 

2. The shade of this tree is esteemed very wholesome in summer, but 
they do not become walks or avenues, by reason of their suckers, and that 
they foul the ground at the fall of the leaf ; but they should be planted 
in barren woods, and to flank places at a distance, for their increase, and 
the glittering brightness of their foliage : The leaves are good for cattle, 
which must be stripped from the cut boughs before they are fagotted. 



kingdom of a sufficient age to enable us to fix the standard of its excellence. So far as we 
yet know, it promises to answer the high character given of its quick growth. 

All the foreign Poplars grow very freely in this country, and, like the others, are propaga- 
ted by cuttings and layers. 

The Poplar was sacred to Hercules, " Populus Alcldae gratissima and when any cere- 
monies were instituted in honour of that god, its tender branches and leaves were twined 
round the heads of the votaries : 

Tum Salii ad cantus, inceiisa altaria circum, 

Papuleis adsunt evincti tempera ramis. ^neid viii. 1. 28i. 

It was customary with lovers to write verses upon the bark of different trees. Ovid, in 
the epistle from Oenone to Paris, fixes upon the Poplar : 

Populus est, memini, fluvial! consita ripa. 

Est in qua nostri litera scripta memor. 
Popule, vive, precor, quae consita margine ripse 

Hoc in rugoso cortice carmen babes : 
Cum Paris Oenone poterit spirare relicta. 

Ad fontem Xanthi versa recurret aqua. ' 

Homer beautifully compares the fall of Simoisius, by the hand of Ajax, to a Poplar just 
cut down : 

So falls a Poplar, that in wat'ry ground 

Rais'd high the head, with stately branches crown'd, 

(Fell'd by some artist with his shining steel. 

To shape the circle of the bending wheel,) 

Cut down it lies, tall, smooth, and largely spread. 

With all its beauteous honours on its head. tope. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 213 

This to be done in the decrease of October, and reserved in bundles for CHAP. XV. 
winter fodder. The wood of the White Poplar is sought of the sculptor, ^"^v"^ 
and they saw both sorts into boards, which, where they lie dry, conti- 
nue a long time. Of this material they also made shields of defence in 
sword and buckler days. Dioscorides writes, that the bark chopped 
small, and sowed in rills, well and richly manured and watered, will 
produce a plentiful crop of mushrooms ; or warm water, in which yeast 
is dissolved, cast upon a new-cut stump. It is to be noted that those 
fungi, which spring from the putrid stumps of this tree, are not venemous, 
(as of all or most other trees they are,) being gathered after the first 
autumnal rains. There is a Poplar of paler green, and is the most proper 
for watery ground ; it will grow of truncheons from two to eight feet 
long, and, bringing a good lop in a short time, is by some preferred to 
Willows. 

For the setting of these Mr. Cook advises the boring of the ground 
with a sort of auger, to prevent the stripping of the bark from the stake 
in planting ; a foot and a half deep, or more if great, (for some may be 
eight or nine feet,) for pollards, cut sloping, and free of cracks at either 
end. Two or three inches diameter is a competent bigness, and the 
earth should be rammed close to them. 

Another expedient is by making drains in very moist ground, two 
spade deep and three feet wide, casting up the earth between the drains, 
sowing it the first year with oats to mellow the ground ; the next winter 
setting it for copse, with these, any, or all the watery sorts of trees. Thus, 
in four or five years, you will have a handsome fell ; and so successively. 
It is in the former author, where the charge is exactly calculated, to whom 
I refer the reader. I am informed that in Cheshire there grow many 
stately and straight Black Poplars, that yield board and planks of an inch 
and a half thickness ; so fit for flooring of rooms, as by some preferred to 
Oak, for the whiteness and lasting, where they lie dry. 

3. They have a Poplar in Virginia of a very peculiar shaped leaf, as if 
the point of it were cut off, which grows very well with the curious 
amongst us to a considerable stature. I conceive it was first brought 
over by John Tradescant, under the name of the Tulip-tree, (from the 
likeness of its flower,) but is not, that I find, taken much notice of in any 



214. A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. of our herbals. I wish we had more of thera, but they are difficult to 
"^"^^^^^ elevate at first ^. 

4. The Aspen only (which is that kind of Lybica, or White Poplar, 
bearing a smaller and more tremulous leaf, by the French called La 
Tremble, or Quaker,) thrusts down a more searching foot, and in this 
likewise differs, that it takes it ill to have its head cut off. Pliny would 
have short truncheons couched two feet in the ground, but first two days 
dried, at one foot and a half distance, and then moulded over. 

5. There is something of a finer sort of White Poplar, which the Dutch 
call Abele, and we have of late much of it transported out of Holland. 
These are also best propagated of slips from the roots, the least of which 
will take, and may in March, at three or four years growth, be transplanted. 

6. In Flanders (not in France, as a late Author pretends) they have 
large nurseries of them, which first they plant at one foot distance, the 
mould light and moist, by no means clayey ; in which though they may 
shoot up tall, yet for want of root they never spread : for, as I said, they 
nmst be interred pretty deep, not above three inches above ground, and 



/This tree is called by LinnEeus liriodendron (tulipifera) foliis [lobatis. Herman 
calls it TULIPIFERA ARBOR riRGiNiANA; and Plukenet and Catesby, tulipifera vjrgimanj, 
tripartita aceris folio ; media lacinia velut abscissa ; also tulipifera carolisiana, foliis produc- 
Horibus magis angiiloiis. The tulip-tree. It is o£ the class and oider Polj/UTidria Polt/gynia. 

TheTulip-tree is a native of North America : It is a tree of the first magnitude, and is gene- 
rally known through all the American States by the title of Poplar. Of lale years there 
have been great numbers of these trees raised from seeds in the English gardens, so that now 
they are become common in the nurseries about London ; and there are many of them in 
several parts of England whicb do annually produce flowers The first tree of this kind 
which flowered here, was in the gardens of the late Earl of Peterborough, at Parson's Green, 
near Fulham, which was planted in a wilderness among other trees; before this was planted 
in the open air, the few plants which were then in the English Gardens were planted in pots, 
and housed in winter, supposing they were too tender to live in the open air ; but this tree, 
soon after it was placed in the full ground, convinced the gardeners of their mistake, by the 
great progress it made, while those which were kept in pots and tubs increased slowly in their 
growth; so that afterward there were many others planted in the full .ground, which are 
now arrived to a large size, especially those which were planted in a moist soil. One of the 
handsomest trees of this kind, near London, is in the garden of Waltham Abbey ; and at 
Wilton, the seat of the Earl of Pembroke, there are some trees of great bulk; as also at 
Bishopthorpe, the palace of the Archbishop of York. The old tree at Parson's Green is quite 



7 



i 

OF FOREST-TREES. 215 

kept clean by pruning them to the middle shoot for the first two years, CHAP. XV. 
and so till the third or fourth. When you transplant, place them at eight, '^-^'v-^ 
ten, or twelve feet interval. They will likewise grow of layers, and even 
of cuttings in very moist places. In three years they will come to an in- 
credible altitude ; in twelve be as big as your middle ; and in eighteen 
or twenty arrive to full perfection. A specimen of this advance we have 
had of an Abele-tree at Sion, which being lopped in February 1651, did, 
by the end of October 1652, produce branches as big as a man's wrist, 
and seventeen feet in length ; for which celerity we may recommend 
them to such late builders as seat their houses in naked and unsheltered 
places, and that would put a guise of antiquity upon any new inclosure ; 
since by these, whilst a man is on a voyage of no long continuance, his 
house and lands may be so covered as to be hardly known at his return. 
But as they thus increase in bulk, their value, as the Italian Poplar has 
taught us, advances likewise : which, after the first seven years, is 
annually worth twelvepence more : So as the Dutch look upon a plan- 
tation of these trees as an ample portion for a daughter, and none of the 
least effects of their good husbandry ; which truly may very well be 
allowed, if that- calculation hold, which the late worthy Knight* has -sir Richard 

J <^ Weston. 

asserted, who began his plantation not long since about Richmond, that 



destroyed by the other trees wliich were suffered to over-hang it, and rob it of its nourish- 
ment, from the fear of taking them down, lest, by admitting the cold air, the Tulip-tree 
might be injured. — The young shoots of this tree are covered with a smooth purplish bark ; 
they are garnished with large leaves, whose foot-slalks are four inches long; they are ranged 
alternate : the leaves are of a singular form, being divided into three lobes ; the middle lobe 
is blunt and hollowed at the point, appearing as if it had been cut with scissors. The two 
side-lobes are rounded, and end in blunt points. The leaves are from four to five inches 
broad near their base, and about four inches long from the foot-stalk to the point, having a 
strong mid-rib, which is formed by the continuation of the foot-stalk. From the mid-rib 
run many transverse veins to the borders, which ramify into several smaller. The upper 
surface of the leaves is smooth, and of a lucid green; the under is of a pale green. The 
flowers are produced at the end of the branches, and are composed of six petals, three with- 
out and three within, which form a sort of bell-shaped flower, whence the inhabitants 
of North America give it the title of Tulip. These petals are marked with green, yellow, 
and red spots, and make a fine appearance when the trees are well charged with flowers. This 
tree flowers in July, and when the flowers drop, the gernien swells and forms a kind of cone, 

but these seldom ripen in England. Mr. Catesby, in his Natural History of Carolina, 

says, " There are some of these trees in America which are thirty feet in circumference ; the 
" boughs are unequal and irregular, making several bends or elbows, which render the trees 
" distinguishable at a great distance, even when they have no leaves upon them. They are 
" found in most parts of the northern continent of America, from the Cape of Florida to New 
" England, where the timber is of great use, the trunk being frequently hollowed, and made 
*' into boats big enough to carry a number of men." 



■ 



216 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. thirty pounds being laid out in these plants, would render at least ten 
thousand pounds in eighteen years ; every tree affording thirty plants, 
and every of them thirty more, after each seven years improving twelve- 
pence in growth, till they arrive to their acme. 

7. The Black Poplar grows rarely with us ; it is a stronger and taller 
tree than the AVhite, the leaves more dark, and not so ample. Divers 
stately ones of these, I remember about the banks of the Po in Italy ; 
which flourishing near the old Eridanus, (so celebrated by the Poets,) in 
which the temerarious Phaeton is said to have been precipitated, doubtless 
gave argument to that fiction of the metamorphosis of his sad sisters, and 
the amber of their precious tears ^. It was whilst I was passing down 
that river towards Ferrara, that I diverted myself with this story of the 



^ It does not appear from Ovid that the sisters of Phaeton were changed into Poplars. 
The supposition probably arose from observing the banks of the Eridanus, or Po, covered 
with these trees. Others again say, that they were changed into Larches, and this sup- 
position seems as probable as the other ; for Vitruvius remarks, " Larix vero, non est 
" notus nisi his municipibus, qui circa ripam fluminis Padi et litora maris Adriatici." In a 
medal of Publius Accoleius Lariscolus, the three Sisters (Heliades) are represented as 
transformed into Larches ; and Montfaucon quotes Palladius as saying, " Resina ilia liquida 
" est lacrymse similis ; non recipit flammam, quasi odio persequatur, ob corabustum 
" Phaethontem." This sentence, however, I do not find in Palladius. He only says, speaking 
of Larches, " Neque enim flammam recipiunt, aut carbones creare possunt." Lib. xii. tit. xv. 
Ovid thus describes the tears of the sorrowful Sisters : 

Inde fluunt lacryms : stillataque sole rigescunt 
De ramis electra novis : quae lucidus amnis 

Excipit, el nuribus miltit gestanda Latinis. met. lib. ii. 

Virgil in one place says, that the Sisters were changed into Alders ; and in another, 
that they were transformed into Poplars ; so that it is probable the Poets chose such 
aquatics as best suited their purpose : 

Turn Phaethontiadas musco circumdat amarae 

Corticis, atque solo proceras erigit ahios. ecl. vi. 1.62. 

Populeas inter frondes umbramque Sororum 

Bum canit ■ .sneid x. 1.190. 

Our countryman Cowley, in his elegant Latin poem upon Plants, makes choice of the 
Alder: 

Ambusti memor, ac casu perterrita Fratris, 

Malta gaudet aqua, et vivit secura sub undis. lib. vi. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



217 



ingenious Poet. I am told there is a Mountain Poplar much propagated cHAP. 
in Germany, about Vienna, and in Bohemia, of which some trees have ^"^^ 
yielded planks of a yard in breadth : Why do we procure none of them ? 

8. The best use of the Poplar and Abele (which are all of them hospi- 
table trees, for any thing thrives under their shade,) is for walks and ave- 
nues about grounds which are situated low^ and near the water, till com- 
ing to be very old, they are apt to grow knurry, and out of proportion. 
The timber is incomparable for all sorts of white wooden vessels, as trays, 
bowls, and other turners' ware ; and of especial use for the bellows - 
maker, because it is almost of the nature of cork, and for ship-pumps, 
though not very solid, yet very close, and yet so light as it may be used 
for the soles, as well as heels, of shoes. Vitruvius, I. de materie C(sdenda, 
reckons it amongthehmlding-timhers, qucemaccime in cedijiciis suntidonecB. 
It is proper for carts, because it is exceedingly light ; also for Vine and 
Hop-props, and divers vimineous works. The loppings in January are 
for the fire ; and therefore such as have proper grounds may, with ease, 
and, in a short time, store themselves for a considerable family, where 
fuel is dear : But the truth is, it burns untowardly, and rather moulders 
away than maintains a solid heat. Of the twigs, with the leaves on, are 
made brooms. The catkins attract the bees, as do also the leaves, espe- 
cially of the black, being more tenacious of the mildews than most 
forest-trees, the Oak excepted. 

Of the Aspen, our woodmen make hoops, fire-wood, coals, &c. ; and 
the bark of young trees, in some countries, serves for candle or torch- 
wood. 

The juice of Poplat-leaves, dropped into the ears, assuages the pain ; 
and the buds contused, and mixed with honey, is a good collyrium for 
the eyes ; as the unguent to refrigerate and cause sleep. 

One thing more of the White Poplar is not to be passed over, viz. 
that the seeds of Mistletoe being put into holes bored in the bark of this 
tree, have produced the plant.— -An experiment sufficient to determine 
that so long controverted question concerning spontaneous and equivocal 
generation. Vide D. Raii H, P. Append, p. 1918. 
Volume I. Mm 



I 



218 A DISCOURSE 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The QUICK-BEAM^. 

BOOK I. 1. The QUICK-BEAM, ORNUS, or, as the Pinax more peculiarly 
^^^^^'^'^ terras it, Fraxinus Bubula, others the Wild Sorb and Witchen, is a species 
of Wild Ash. The berries which it produces in October may then be 
sown, or rather the sets planted. I have store of them in a warm grove 
of mine, and they are of singular beauty. It rises to a reasonable stature, 
shoots upright and slender, and consists of a fine smooth bark. It delights 
to be both in mountains and woods, and to fix itself in good light grounds. 
Virgil affirms it will unite with the Pear, 



»This is the SORBUS (avcvparia) foliis pinnatis, utrinque glabris. Lin. Sp. PI. 683. 
Service-tree with winged leaves, which are smooth en both sides. Sorbus sylvestris, foliis 
domesticae similis. C. B. P. 415. Wild Service mlh leaves like the cultivated; commonly 
called Quicken, quick-beam, mountain ash, and in the north, rowan-tree. 

The Quick-beam grows naturally in many parts of England; but in the southern counties it is 
seldom seen of any great magnitude, being commonly cut down, and reduced to underwood ; 
but in the North of England and Wales, where the trees are permitted to grow, they arrive 
at a considerable size. The stems are covered with a smooth gray bark ; the branches while 
young have a purplish brown bark, and the leaves are winged ; they are composed of eight 
or nine pair of long narrow lobes, terminated by an odd one ; the lobes are about two inches 
long, and half an inch broad toward their base, ending in acute points, and are sharply 
sawed on their edges ; the leaves on the young trees in the spring, are hoary on their under 
side, which about Midsummer goes off, but those upon the older branches have very 
little at any season. The flowers are produced in large bunches, almost in form of umbels, 
at the end of the branches ; they are composed of five spreading concave petals, shaped like 
those of the Pear-tree, but smaller ; these are succeeded by roundish berries, growing in large 
bunches, which have a depressed navel on the top, and turn red in autumn when they 
ripen. 

The buds of this tree begin to open about the beginning of April. The leaves are out 
by the middle of the month, and the flowers are in full blow by the sixth of May. There 
are three styles and twenty stamina inserted into the Calyx, which shows that this tree 
belongs to the class and order Icosandria Trigynia. 

The Quick-beam is raised from seeds sown as soon as ripe, in beds properly prepared. 
These frequently remain till the second spring before they make their appearance ; and in 
the spring following they should be put out into the nursery. It is sometimes raised from 
layers; but when cultivated in that manner, the trees are neither so handsome nor 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



S19 



2. Besides the use of it for the husbandman's tools, goads, &c. the CH. XVI. 
wheel- wright commends it for being all heart ; if the tree be large, and ^ 
so well grown as some there are, it will saw into planks, boards, and 
timber ; our Fletchers commend it for bows next to Yew, which we 
ought not to pass over, for the glory of our once English ancestors : In a 
statute of Henry VIII. you have it mentioned. It is excellent fuel ; but 
I have not yet observed any other use, save that the blossoms are of an 
agreeable scent, and the berries such a tempting bait for thrushes, 
that as long as they last, you shall be sure of their company. Some 
highly commend the juice of the berries, which, fermenting of itself, if 
well preserved, makes an excellent drink against the spleen and scurvy : 
Ale and beer brewed with these berries, being ripe, is an incomparable 
drink, familiar in W ales, where this tree is reputed so sacred, that there 
is not a church-yard without one of them planted in it, (as among us the 
Yew,) so, on a certain day in the year, every body religiously wears 
a cross made of the wood ; and the tree is by some authors called Fraxi- 
nus Cambro-Britannica ; reputed to be a preservative against fascinations 
and evil spirits ; whence, perhaps we call it Witchen, the boughs being 
stuck about the house, or the wood used for walking-staves. 



so straight as those raised from seeds. In former times this tree was supposed to be 
possessed of the property of driving away witches and evil spirits ; and this property is re- 
corded in one of the stanzas of a very ancient song, called, the laidley worm of 
Spindleston Heughs : 

Their spells were vain. The hags returned 

To the queen in sorrowful mood. 

Crying, that witches have no power. 

Where there is Rown-tree wood. 

The last line of this song leads to the true reading of a line in Shakspeare's Tragedy of 
Macbeth. The sailor's wife, on the witches requesting some chestnuts, hastily answers, 
" A Romn-tree, witch !" But all the editions have it, " Jromt thee, witch !" which is 
nonsense, and evidently a corruption. — See an edition of Macbeth, by Harry Rowe. 

This tree will grow upon almost any soil, either strong or light, moist or dry. It will 
flourish on mountains and in woods, and is never affected by the severity of weather, being 
extremely hardy. When loaded with fruit, it makes a most delightful appearance : 

Sanguineisque inculta rubent aviaria baccis. virg. 
Of this species there is a cultivated Service, titled by Linnseus, Sorbusfoliis pimatis, subtiis 
villosis. Caspar Bauhine calls it, Sorbus sativa ; and Clusius, Sorbus legitima. It grows 
naturally in the south of France, in Italy, and in most of the southern countries of Europe, 
where its fruit is served up as a desert. 

M m 2 



220 



A DISCOURSE 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The HAS ELK 

1. ]VuX SYLVESTRIS, or CORYLUS, the HASEL, is best raised 
from the nuts, (also by suckers and layers,) which you shall sow like mast, 
in a pretty deep furrow, toward the end of February, or treat them 
as you are instructed in the Walnut. Light ground may immediately be 



There are only two species of this genus : 

1. CORYLUS (avellana) stipulis ovatis obtusis. Lin. Sp. PI. I^IT- Hasel Nut with 
oval, blunt stipulce. Corylus Sylvestris. C. B. P. 418. Wild hasel nvt. 

2. CORYLUS C coLURSA J stipulis linearibus acutis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1417. Hasel Nut with 
narrow, acute stipules. Corylus Byzantina. H. L, igi. Byzantine nut. 

The Corylus, in the Linnaean System, is of the class and order Monoecia Polyandria. The 
flowers begin to open about the twenty-fifth of January, and in a month's time are in full 
blow. They are small, and of a beautiful red colour. The catkins make their appearance 
about the middle of September. 

The common Hasel grows wild in almost every part of this island, and serves very well 
for thickening woods. When allowed to grow, it will make poles of twenty feet, but 
it is usually cut down sooner for walking-sticks, fishing-rods, withs for fagotting, &e. for 
which necessary purposes it is recommended as a profitable wood. 

In order to raise a coppice of Hasels, the nuts must be gathered in the autumn. These 
must be carefully preserved till the month of February in a moist place, to keep them from 
growing dry : then, having the ground well ploughed and harrowed, let drills be drawn 
at one yard distance ; into these drop the nuts at about ten inches distance, and let them 
be covered with two inches of earth. When the young plants appear, they must be kept 
clear from weeds in the manner formerly ordered for trees planted in rows, and they must 
remain under that careful cultivation till the weeds are no longer to be feared. Where 
the plants stand too thick, they should be properly thinned, and this thinning oucht 
to be continued till the plants are left a yard asunder each way. A Coryletum may also 
be raised from plants drawn from the seminary, when they are a foot or two feet high. 
These should be planted where they are to remain at one yard asunder. In twelve yeai's 
they may be cut down for poles ; but they will be ready for a second fall much sooner ; 
and afterwards may be cut every seventh or eighth year, when the value will be from ten 
to fifteen pounds per acre. The chief uses to which this wood is applied, are for hurdles, 
fagots, hoops, and bundles of stakes. Close hurdles sell from six shillings to nine 
shillings a dozen. Bundles of stakes sell for sevenpence each. Hoops are worth three 



BOOK 1. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 221 

sown and harrowed in very accurately ; but in case the mould be clay, cH. XVII. 
plough it earlier, and let it be sufficiently mellowed with the frosts ; and ' ^'^^ 
then the third year cut your trees near to the ground with a sharp bill, 
the moon decreasing. 



shillings and sixpence a bundle of sixty hoops. The Byzantine Nut is distinguished from 
the other species chiefly by the stipulae, which are very narrow and acute, whereas those 
of the common nut are oval and obtuse. It differs also in the size of its growth, the 
Byzantine seldom growing higher than four or five feet, hence it got the name of Drvarf 
Nut-tree. In other respects it is like our Common Nut-tree ; it flowers at the same time, and 
the fruit is produced in clusters. Mr. Miller suspects this and the Barcelona Nut to be 
the same. 

The Filbert, or Corylus sativa frudu ohlongo, is not a distinct species, but only a variety 
of the Common Nut. This can only be kept true to its kind by suckers, or layers, which 
last are observed to make the best trees. In order to form stools, some plants of the best 
kinds should be procured, and the twigs layered from them should be taken off and planted 
in the nursery. When well rooted, they may be removed into the ground where they are 
to remain. In some parts of Kent," plantations of Filberts are much attended to. The 
trees are never permitted to rise above six feet in height, and are regularly pruned and 
dished out like Gooseberry-bushes. They should stand at the distance of twelve feet, and 
when full spread the diameter of the cup formed by the branches should be about six feet. 
The intermediate spaces should be cultivated with beans, turnips, and hoeing crops ; for 
upon the constant stirring of the ground the vigour of the trees principally depends. I am 
well informed that a bushel of nuts has been gathered from one tree managed in this 
manner. In a scarce year. Filberts in the husk are worth twenty-four shillings per 
bushel ; — a great encouragement for plantations of this species. Hops are sometimes 
raised between the Filbert-trees, so that the expectations of the planter may be gratified 
with one and sometimes two crops. 

It is an observation of great antiquity, and well confirmed, that " a good nut year makes 
a good wheat year." Virgil speaking of the Walnut-tree says. 

Si superant foetus, pariter frumenta sequentur. georg. i. 1. 189. 

I have a peculiar pleasure in laying before the public the following letter, received from 
a gentleman much conversant in the management of Filbert-trees. " When the Filberts 
"raised from layers, are eight inches high, there will spring from them several small 
" branches. Those in the centre must be cut out, in order that the tree may be trained 
" in the form of a punch-bowl. The branches must not be permitted to exceed six feet 
"in height, and all kept of an equal length. The trees should be planted at the distance 
" of four yards from each other, and these, if well trained, will nearly touch in a few years. 
" It will be necessary to dig well about them every year, and every third year to give them 
" a good dressing of manure, as also to top the bearing branches early in the spring.— 
" Carefully remove all suckers and shoots about the roots. A tree thus trained, has been 
« known to produce two stone of nuts in the husk ; and I am credibly informed, that 
"4001. has been made of the produce of one acre, sold at thirty shillings per bushel, in the 
"London market." 



222 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. 2. But if you would make a grove for pleasure^ plant them in fosses, 
"^^"^^"^^ at a yard distance, and cut them within half a foot of the earth, dressing 
them for three or four springs and autumns, by only loosening the mould 
a little about their roots. Others there are who set the nuts by hand at 
one foot distance, to be transplanted the third year, at a yard asunder : 
But this work is not to be taken in hand so soon as the nuts fall, nor till 
winter be well advanced, because they are exceedingly obnoxious to the 
frosts ; nor will they sprout till the spring ; besides, vermine are great 
devourers of them. Preserve them therefore moist, not mouldy, by laying 
them in their own dry leaves, or in sand, till January. 

Plantis edurae Coryli nascuntur georg. ii. 1. 65, 

Hasels from sets and suckers take. 

3. From whence they thrive very well, the shoots being about the 
scantling of small wands and switches, or somewhat bigger, and such as 
have drawn divers hairy twigs, which are by no means to be disbranched, 
no more than their roots, unless by a very sparing and discreet hand. 
Thus your coryletum, or copse of Hasels, being planted about autumn, 
may, as some practise it, be cut within three or four inches of the ground 
the spring following, which the new cion will suddenly repair in clusters, 
and tufts of fair poles of twenty, or sometimes thirty feet long : But 
I rather should spare them till two or three years after, when they shall 
have taken strong hold, and may be cut close to the very earth, the 
improsperous and feeble ones especially. Thus are Filberts likewise to 
be treated, both of them improved much by transplanting, but chiefly by 
graffing ; and it should be tried with Filberts, and even with Almonds 
themselves^ for more elegant experiments. 

In the mean time, I do not confound the Filbert, Pontic, or Filbord, 
distinguished by its beard, with our foresters or bald Hasel-nuts, which 
doubtless we had from abroad, and bearing the names of Avelan, Avelin, 
as I find in some ancient records and deeds in my custody, where my 
ancestor's names were written Avelan, alias Evelin, generally. 

4. For the place ; they above all affect cold, barren, dry, and sandy 
grounds : mountains, and even rocky soils produce them ; they prosper 
where quarries of freestone lie underneath, as at Haselbury in Wilts, 



OF FOREST-TREES. 223 

Haselingfield in Cambridgeshire, Haslemere in Surrey, and other places ; CH. XVII. 
but more plentifully, if the ground be somewhat moist, dankish, and '^^'^^ 
mossy, as in the fresher bottoms and sides of hills, hoults, and in hedge- 
rows. Such as are maintained for copses, may after twelve years be felled 
the first time ; the next at seven or eight ; for by this period their roots 
will be completely vigorous. You may plant them from October 
to January, provided you keep them carefuUy weeded till they have 
taken fast hold ; and there is not among aU our store a more profitable 
wood for copseSj and therefore good husbands should store them 
with it. 

5. The use of the Hasel is for poles, spars, hoops, forks, angling-rods, 
fagots, cudgels, coals, and springes to catch birds ; and it made one 
of the best coals, once used for gunpowder, being very fine and light, till 
they found Alder to be more fit : There is no wood which purifies wine 
sooner than the chips of Hasel. It is good for withs and bands ; upon 
which I remember, Pliny thinks it a pretty speculation, that a w^ood 
should be stronger to bind withal, being bruised and divided, than when 
whole and entire. The coals are used by painters to draw with, like 
those of Sallow : Lastly, for riding-switches, and divinatory rods for the 
detecting and finding out of minerals ; at least, if that tradition be no 
imposture. By whatsoever occult virtue the forked stick, so cut and 
skilfully held, becomes impregnated with those invisible steams and 
exhalations, as by its spontaneous bending from an horizontal posture, 
to discover not only mines and subterraneous treasure, and springs 
of water, but criminals guilty of murder, &c. made out so solemnly by 
the attestation of magistrates, and divers other learned and credible 
persons, who have critically examined matters of fact, is certainly next 
to a miracle, and requires a strong faith". Let the curious therefore con- 



" It is certain that water and minerals may be discovered by an examination of the 
surface of the soil, but that a forked twig of Hasel should move when held over confined 
water, or a vein of mineral, is a thing not to be believed. It is an easy matter for a person, 
possessed of a delicate touch, to make the twig turn round at pleasure, without any apparent 
movement of the finger and thumb. I have often practised this in the presence of those 
who were in possession of more faith than philosophy : 

Thus he receives the most delight. 

Who least perceives the juggler's sleight. hudibras. 



224 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. suit that philosophical treatise of Dr. Vallemont*, which will at least 
^"^^^'^'^^ entertain them with a world of surprising things. But the most signal 

*Vaiieniont honour it was ever employed in, and which might deservedly exalt this 
PhisiqueOc- ij^j^^ie and common plant above all the trees of the wood, is that 

cultouTraite . . ... 

de la Baguet of hurdles, especially the flexible white, the red, and brittle ; not for that 
Bur"^^' generally used for the folding of our innocent sheep, an emblem of 
cerniiig the the church, but for making the walls of one of the first Christian Oratories 
expioration& ^^le world ; and particularly in this island, that venerable and sacred 

superstitious ' r y 

original, see fabric at Glastoubury, founded by St. Joseph of Arimathea, which is 
Browi!e''sVui^ storied to have been first composed but of a few small Hasel-rods inter- 
gar Errors, c. wovcu about Certain stakes driven into the ground ; — and walls of this 
anrthe^com instead of laths and puncheons, super-induced with a coarse mortar, 

mentators up- made of loam and straw, do to this day inclose divers humble cottages, 
onHos.iv.12. gjjg(3s^ ^nd out-houses in the country. It is strong and lasting for such 

purposes, whole or cleft ; and I have seen ample inclosures of courts and 

gardens so secured. 

6. There is a compendious expedient for the thickening of copses 
which are too transparent, by laying of a sampler, or pole, of an Hasel, 
Ash, Poplar, &c. of twenty or thirty feet in length, the head a little 
lopped into the ground, giving it a chop near the foot to make it succumb ; 
this fastened to the earth with a hook or two, and covered with some 
fresh mould at a competent depth, (as gardeners lay their carnations,) 
wiU produce a world of suckers, and thicken and furnish a copse speedily. 
I add no more of Filberts, a kinder and better sort of Hasel-nut, of larger 
and longer shape and beard : the kernels also covered with a fine mem- 
brane, of which the red is more delicate : they both are propagated 
as the Hasel, and while more domestic, planted either asunder or in 
palisade, are seldom found in the copses. They are brought among 
other fruit to the best tables for desert, and are said to fatten ; but, when 
too much eaten, are obnoxious to the asthmatic. In the mean time, 
of this I have had experience, that Hasel-nuts, but the Filbert especially, 
being full ripe and peeled in warm water, as they blanch Almonds, 
make a pudding very little, if at all, inferior to that our ladies make of 
Almonds. 



i 



OF rOKEST-TREES. 



225 



CHAP. XVIII. 
The BIBCH\ 

1. BeTULA, the BIRCH, or BIRC, (whence some derive the name 
of Berkshire,) in British, Beduen, is doubtless a proper indigene of Eng- 
land, though Pliny calls it a Gaulish tree. It is altogether produced of 
roots or suckers, (tho' it sheds a kind of samera about the spring,) which 



••Of this GENUS there are five species : 

1* BETULA (al^a ) foliis ovatis acuminatis serratis. Lin. Sp. PI. ISpS. Birch-tree with 
oval, sawed leaves, ending in points. The common birch-tree. 

The common Birch is a tree well known, and there are few moist places in this Icingdom where 
it does not naturally grow. In summer its. brandies are clothed with elegant small leaves, 
and in winter its trunk is covered with a whitish bark. These trees, therefore, may be 
planted in parks, lawns, &c. to increase the variety, as well as in woods, or coppices, to be 
cut for profit. The lopping of the Birch makes excellent fuel, as well as the best of brooms. 
The bark is of a very durable nature : the Swedes cover their houses with it, and it lasts 
many years. The inner fine bark was, before the invention of paper, used for writing ; and 
of the sap is made a wholesome Wine ; salutary, it is said, for such as are afflicted with the 
stone and gravel. 

1. BETULA (nana) foliis orbiculatis crenatis. Lin, Sp. PI. 1394. Birch-tree with round 
crenated leaves. Betula pumila foliis subrotundis. Amman. DrvARF BtRCii. 

This species is a native of Lapland, and is of signal use in the economy of the inhabitants 
of that arctic region : The branches furnish them with their chief fuel ; and the seeds are the 
food of the Ptarmigan (Tetrao Lagopus) or White Partridge. These birds are much esteemed, 
and make a considerable part of the sustenance of the inhabitants. Great quantities are 
caught in the winter season and sent to different provinces. Before Linneeus made his 
Lapland expedition, this Birch had been considered only as a variety of the common tree 
of that name; but its distinct specific characters have since been established. This tree has, 
within these few years, been added to the Flora Britannica, having been found by Mr. 
Lightfoot in the highlands of Scotland. It is of humble stature, seldom exceeding three 
or four feet. From this shrub is prepared a Moxa, which the Laplanders consider as an 
efficacious remedy in all painful diseases, when burnt upon the part. 

3. BETULA C LENTA J foliis cordatis oblongis Acuminatis serratis. Liri. Sp. PI. lS94i. 
hirch-tree with oblong, pointed, heart-shaped, sawed leaves. The canada birch. 

This grows to a timber tree of sixty or more feet in height. The leaves are heart-shaped, 
oblong, smooth, of a thin consistence, pointed, and very sharply serrated. The varieties 
of this species differ in colour, and go by the names of,— 1. Dusky Canada Birch ; 2. White 

Volume I. N n 



226 



A DISCOURSE 



being planted at four or five feet interval, in small twigs, will suddenly 
rise to trees, provided they affect the ground, which cannot well be too 
barren or spungy ; for it will thrive both in the dry and the wet, sand 
and stony, marshes and bogs ; the water-galls, and uliginous parts of 
forests that hardly bear any grass, do many times spontaneously produce 
it in abundance, whether the place be high or low, and nothing comes 
amiss to it. Plant the small twigs, or suckers having roots, and after the 



Paper Birch ; 3. Poplar-leaved Canada Birch ; 4. Low-growing Canada Birch. The liquor 
flowing from wounds made in this tree is used by the inhabitants of Kamptschatka without 
previous fermentation, in which state it is said to be pleasant and refreshing, but somewhat 
purgative. In this manner the crews of the Resolution and Discovery used it during 
their stay in the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul. The natives of Kamptschatka convert 
the bark into domestic and kitchen purposes, and the wood is employed in the construction 
of sledges and canoes. Kraschininikoff, in his " History of Kamptschatka," says, that the 
natives convert the bark into a pleasant and wholesome food by stripping it off when it is 
green, and cutting it into long narrow stripes, like vermicelli, drying it, and stewing it 
afterwards along with their caviar. 

4. BETULA ( NIGRA J foliis rhombeo-ovatis acuminatis duplicato-serratis. Lin. Sp. 
Plant. 1394. Birch-tree with rhomboid, ovaJ, pointed leaves, which are doubly sawed. Betula 
nigra Vii'giniana, Pluk. Aim. 67. Black Virginia birch-tree. 

This being of foreign growth, is propagated for -wilderness and ornamental plantations; but 
as it begins now to become pretty common, it is to be hoped it will soon make a figure 
among our forest-trees, for it is equally hardy with our common Birch, and arrives at a much 
greater magnitude. This species will grow to upwards of sixty feet in height. The branches 
are spotted, and more sparingly set on the trees than the common sorts. The leaves are 
broader, grow on long foot-stalks, and add a dignity to the appearance of the tree. There 
are several varieties of this species, differing in the colour, size of the leaves, and shoots ; all 
of which have names given them by nurserymen, who propagate the different sorts for sale ; 
such as, — 1. The broad-leaved Virginian Birch; 2. The Poplar-leaved Birch; 3. The Paper 
Birch; 4. The Brown Birch, &c. 

5. BETULA (alnvs) Pedunculis ramosis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1394-. In the Flor. Lapponic. 
it is termed simply. Alms. The common alder. 

Linnaeus has thought proper to class this tree with the Birch ; but as Mr. Evelyn makes a 
separate chapter of it, I have in this place oaly mentioned its botanical description. 

In the Linnasan System the Birch belongs to the class and order Monoecia Tetrandria, 
there being male and female flowers separately on the same plant, the male having four 
stamina. In general, the leaves are fully displayed by the beginning of April. The flowers 
appear in blow about the twenty -seventh of the same month, and about the eleventh of 
September the catkins are formed. 

There are two good ways of propagating this tree, either by layers or seeds. If from 
seeds, they should be carefully gathered in the autumn, befm-e they di'op from their, scales. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



227 



first year cut them within an inch of the surface ; this will cause them cH. xvill. 
to sprout in strong and lusty tufts, fit for copse and spring woods; or, by ^"^'"v'^h^ 
reducing them to one stem, render them, in a very few years, fit for the 
turner. 

2. Though Birch be of all other the worst of timber, yet it has its 
various uses ; as for the husbandman's ox-yokes ; also for hoops, small 



■which will happen soon after they begin to open. These should be sown in the senainaiy, 
about a quarter of an inch deep ; and, after they are come up, should be carefully cleansed 
from weeds for the first summer. The spring following they may be planted out in the 
nursery : The rows must be two feet and a half asunder, and the plants a foot and a half 
distant in the rows. There they may remain till they are of a suflBcient size to be planted 
out for good. 

Whoever has not the conveniency of procuring the seeds, may soon raise a great quantity 
by layers from very few stools. Having planted some stools for this purpose, and having 
headed them down to the ground, let them remain two years before they are layered. By 
this time each branch will have a great quantity of side-shoots, which being splashed and 
laid in the ground, every twig will grow, and make a fine plant;, fit to be planted out in the 
nursery by the autumn following. These plants should be taken from the stools, and 
planted as the seedlings ; and the stools ought to be refreshed with the knife, by taking off 
the old splashed wood, and preparing them to throw out vigorous fresh shoots for a second 
operation, which should be repeated every two years. 

After the plants are of a size to be set out for good, they may be planted upon almost 
any ground with success ; for the Birch, being a native of Britain, suits itself to all sorts 
of soils. It will thrive extremely well on barren land, whether it be wet or dry, sandy 
or stony, marshy or boggy. It sows itself, and will come up in places where hai'dly any 
other tree will grow. To what advantage, then, may many parts of this island be planted 
with this tree, particularly such as have the advantage of large rivers, where the wood 
may be sent off by water ; for where water-can-iage may be had, the broom-maker will be 
a constant purchaser. 

Whenever coppices of the Birch are planted, with a design to be sold to the broom- 
maker, the plants should be taken out of the nursery, or gathered in the woods, and set 
five feet asunder ; and in eight years they will be ready to cut ; when an acre, if it has 
succeeded well, will be worth about ten pounds. After this, the trees may be cut every 
six years, when the acre will be of the same value. If plantations of this tree are intended 
for hoops and smaller uses of husbandry, they will support a cutting for these purposes 
eveiy twelfth year, and will be worth more than twelve pounds per acre. Thus may such 
lands as are not worth a shilling an acre be improved with Birch-trees ; an improvement 
so much the greater, as the nature of the tree will admit of its being raised and planted 
out at a very small expense. When the land is good enough to admit of the plough, 
a crop of corn is thie best preparation for a Birch plantation ; but where this cannot be 

N n 2 



228 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. screws, panniers, brooms, wands, bavin-bands, and withs for fagots ; 

•^^"^"'^ it claims a memory for arrows, bolts, shafts, our old English artillery ; 

also for dishes, bowls, ladles, and other domestic utensils, in the good old 
days of more simplicity, yet of better and truer hospitality. With this 
tree, whereof they have a blacker kind, the Northern Americans make 
canoes, boxes, buckets, kettles, dishes, (which they sew and join very 
curiously with thread made of Cedar-roots,) and divers other domestical 



done, the plants may be taken out of the nui'sery, when they are out of the r^ach of weeds, 
and then planted ; and no farther care need be taken of them than keeping out cattle, till 
they are fit for cutting. The best season for planting out the Birch, if it be on dry ground, 
is autumn ; but if it be in a wet soil, the spring is preferable. 

So much for the cultivation of the common Birch ; let us now give directions for the pro- 
pagation of the foreign kinds. These may be raised from seeds and layers. We receive the 
seeds from America, where they are natives ; when sown in beds of fine mould, and covered 
about a quarter of an inch deep, they will generally grow. 

During the time the plants are in the seminary, they must be constantly weeded and 
watered in dry weather ; and when they are one or two years old, according to their strength, 
they should be planted in the nursery, in rows in the usual manner. Weeding must always 
be observed in summer, and digging between the rows in winter ; and when they are about a 
yard or four feet high, they will be of a good size to be planted out for the wilderness 
quarters. 

The propagation by layers, is the way to continue the varieties of the different sorts. 
A sufficient number of plants should be procured for this purpose, and set on a spot 
of double-dug ground, three yards distant from each other. The year following, if they 
have made no young shoots, they should be headed to within half a foot of the ground, 
to form the stools, which will then shoot vigorously the summer following ; and in the 
autumn the young shoots should be splashed near the stools, and the tender twigs layered 
near their ends. They will then strike root, and become good plants by the autumn 
following ; whilst fresh twigs will have sprung up from the stools, to be ready for the same 
operation. The layers, then, should be takeh up, and the operation pei-formed afresh. — 
If the plants designed for stools have made good shoots the first year, they need not 
be headed down, but splashed near the ground, and all the young twigs layered. Thus 
may an immediate crop be raised this way ; whilst young shoots will spring out in great 
plenty below the splashed part, in order for layering the succeeding year, This work, 
therefore, may be ' repeated every autumn or winter ; when some of the strongest layers 
may be planted out, if they are immediately wanted ; whilst the others may be removed 
into the nursery, to grow to be stronger plants, before they are removed to their 
destined habitations. 

Cuttings also, if set in a moist, shady border the beginning of October, will frequently 
grow : But as this is not a sure method, and as these trees are so easily propagated by 
layers, it hardly deserves to be put in practice. 



1 



OF FOREST-TREES. 229 

utensils, as baskets, bags, &c. ; and of a certain fungous excrescence CH. xviir. 
from the bole, after being boiled, beaten, and dried in an oven, they ^-^V^i^ 
make excellent spunk or touchwood, and balls to play withal ; it is astrin- 
gent, and, being reduced to powder, is an infallible remedy in the hae- 
morrhoides. They make also not only this small ware, but even small 
craft, pinnaces, of Birch : Ribbing them with white Cedar, and covering 
them with large flakes of Birch-bark, they sew them with thread of Spruce- 



In Sweden the budding and leafing of the Birch-tree is considered as a directory for 
sowing barley ; and as there is something extremely sublime and harmonious in the idea, I 
flatter myself an account of it will be acceptable. 

Mr. Harold Barck, in his ingenious dissertation upon the foliation of trees, published in 
the Amffin. Acad. vol. iii. informs us, that the illustrious Linnaeus had, in the most earnest 
manner, exhorted his countrymen to observe, with all care and diligence, at what time each 
tree expands its buds and unfolds its leaves ; imagining, and not without reason, that his 
country would, some time or other, reap some new and perhaps unexpected benefit from 
observations of this kind made in different places. 

As one of the apparent advantages, he advise? the prudent husbandman to watch, with 
the greatest care, the proper time for sowing; because this, with the Divine assistance^ 
produces plenty of provision, and lays the foundation of the public welfare of the state, 
and of the private happiness of the people. The ignorant farmer, tenacious of the ways 
and customs of his ancestors, fixes his sowing season to a month, and sometimes to a par- 
ticular week, without considering whether the eartli be in a proper state to receive the 
seed ; from whence it frequently happens, that what the sower sowe4 wjth sweat, the 
reaper reaps with sorrow. The wise economist should therefore pndeavour to fix 
upon certain signs whereby to judge of the proper time for sowing. Wp see trees open 
their buds and expand their leaves, from whence we conclude that spring approaches, 
and experience supports us in the conclusion ; but nobody has as yet been able to show 
us what trees Providence has intended should be our calendar, so that we might know on 
what day the countryman ought to sow his grain. No one can deny but that the same 
Power which brings forth the leaves of trees, will also make the grain vegetate ; npr can 
any one assert that a premature sowing will always, and in every place, accelerate a ripe 
harvest. Perhaps therefore we cannot promise ourselves a happy success by any meaus so 
likely, as by taking our rule for sowing, from the leafing of trees. We must for that end 
observe in what order every tree puts forth its leaves according to its species, the heat of 
the atmosphere, and the quality of the soil. Afterwards, by compai-ing together the ob= 
servations of the several years, it will not be difficult to determine, from the foliation of the 
trees, if not certainly, at least probably, the time when annual plants ought to be sown. It 
will be necessary likewise to remark what sowings made in different parts of the spring pro= 
dude the best crops, in order that, by comparing these with the leafing of trees, it may appear 
which is the most proper time for sowing. 

To these most ingenious remarks, Mr. Barck has added the order of the leafing of trees 
in Sweden. Mr. Stillingfleet is the only person that has made correct observations upon 



230 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. roots, and pitch them, as it seems we did even here in Britain, as well as 
^^-^"V"^ the Veneti, making use of the Willow : Whereof Liican, 

Primum cana salix madefacto vimine parvam 
Texitur in puppim, caesoqile induta juvenco, 
Vectoris patiens, tumidum superemicat aranenl. 
Sic Venetus, stagnante Pado, fusoque Britannus 
Navigat Oceano.— — — ' 

When Sicoris to his own banks restor'd. 

Had quit the field, of twigs and willow-board 

They build small craft, cover'd with bullocks' hide, 

In which they reach'd the river's farther side : 

So sail the Veneti, if Padus flow ; 

The Britons sail on their rough ocean so. 

It also makes good fuel. In many of the mosses in the West-Riding o( 
See Phiios. Yorkshire, are often duo; up Birch- trees that burn and flame like Fir and 

rans. vol. IX. kji. i.^^'-f^'-^} or 

o, cv. p. 93. Candle-wood ; and I think Pliny says, the Gauls extracted a sort of bitu- 
men out of Birch. Great and small Coal are made by the charing of this 



the foliation of the trees and shrubs of this kingdom. The following is his calendar, which 
was made in Norfolk in the year 1765. 

13 Filbert. April t 

14 Sallow 7 

15 Alder 7 



1 Honey-suckle Jan. 15 

2 Gooseberry March 11 

3 Currant H 

4 Elder 11 

5 Birch April 1 

6 Weeping Willow 1 

7 Raspberry 3 

8 Bramble 8 

9 Brier 4 

10 Plum 6 

11 Apricot 6 

12 Peach 6 



16 Sycamore 9 

17 Elm 10 

18 Quince........ 10 

19 Marsh Elder 11 

20 Wych Elm 12 

21 Quicken-tree 13 

22 Hornbeam 13 

23 Apple-tree 14 

24 Abele 16 



25 Chestnut April l6 

26 Willow... 17 

27 Oak 18 

28 Lime 18 

29 Maple 19 

30 Walnut. 21 

31 Plane 21 

32 Black Poplar. 21 

33 Beech 21 

34 Acacia Robinia 21 

35 Ash 22 

36 Carolina Poplar 22 



In different years, and in different soils and expositions, these trees and shrubs vary as to 
their leafing ; but they are invariable as to their succession, being bound down to it by 
Nature herself A farmer, therefore, who would use this sublime idea of Linnaeus, should 
diligently mark the time of budding, leafing, and flowering of different plants. He should 
also put down the days on which his respective grains were sown ; and, by comparing 
these two tables for a number of years, he will be enabled to form an exact calendar for 
his spring corn. An attention to the discolouring and falling of the leaves of plants, will 



OF FOREST-THEES. 231 

wood, (see Book iii. chap. iv. of Fuel,) as of the tops and loppings, Mr. CH. XVlir, 
Howard's new Tan. The inner white cuticle, and silken bark, (which 
strips off of itself almost yearly,) was anciently used for writing-tables, 
before the invention of paper ; there is a Birch-tree in Canada, whose 
bark will serve to write on, and may be made into books, and of the twigs 
very pretty baskets ; with the outward thicker and coarser part of the 
common Birch, are divers houses in Russia, Poland, and those poor 
northern tracts, covered, instead of slates and tile : nay, one who has 
lately published an account of Sweden, says, that the poor people grind 
the very bark of Birch-trees to mingle with their bread-corn. It is af- 
firmed by Cardan, that some Birch-roots are so very extravagantly veined, 
as to represent the shapes and images of beasts, birds, trees, and many 
other pretty resemblances. Lastly, of the whitest part of the old wood, 
found commonly in doating Birches, are made the grounds of our effemi- 
nate farined Gallants' sweet powder ; and of the quite consumed and 
rotten, (such as we find reduced to a kind of reddish earth in super- 
assist him in sowing his winter grain, and teach him how to guess at the approach of winter. 
Towards the end of September, which is the best season for sowing wheat, he will find 



The leaves of the Plane-tree, tawny ; 

• > of the Oak, yellowish green 

• of the Hasel, yellow ; 

= of the Sycamore, dirty brown ; 

. of the Maple, pale yellow ; 

. of the Ash, fine lemon ; 



The leaves of the Elm, orange ; 

of the Hawthorn, tawny 

yellow ; 

of the Cherry, red ; 

«— of the Hornbeam, bright 

yellow. 



There is a certain kind of genial warmth which the earth should enjoy at the time the 
seed is sown. In the animal world we observe this in the most convincing manner. In 
brutes the symptoms of that period are plainly marked. The budding, leafing, and 
flowering of plants seem to indicate the same happy temperature of the earth 
" Vera tument terrae, et genitalia semina poscunt." 

Appearances of this sublime nature may be compared to the writing upon the wall, 
which was seen by many, but understood by few. They seem to constitute a kind of har* 
snonious intercourse between God and man. They are the silent language of the Deity, 

The ingenious and indefatigable Mr. Young has endeavoured to ascertain t^e time of 
sowing by another method. His experiments are accurately conducted, and his conclu- 
sions from them fairly drawn | but it were to be wished that he had intevwoven the idea of 
Linnasus with his own experiments ; we should then have had an unerring rule to go by. 
The temperature of the season, with respect to heat and cold, drought and wet, differs in 
every year. Experiments made this year cannot determine, with certainty, for the next, 
They may assist, but cannot be conclusive. The bints of Linnaeus constitute an universal 
rule for the whole world, because trees, shrubs, and herbs, bud, leaf, flower, and shed their 
leaves, in every country, according to the difference of seasons. 



232 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. annuated hollow trees,) is gotten the best mould for the raising of divers 
-"^^^r-^ seedlings of the rarest plants and flowers ; to say nothing here of the 
Magisterial Fasces, for which, anciently, the cudgels were used by the 
Lictor, as now the gentler rods by our tyrannical Pedagogues, for lighter 
faults. 

3. I should here add the uses of the water too, had I full permission to 
tamper with all the medicinal virtues of trees ; but if the sovereign effects 
of the juice of this despicable tree supply its other defects, (which make 
some judge it unworthy to be brought into the catalogue of woods to be 
propagated,) I may perhaps, for once, be permitted to play the empiric, 
and to gratify our laborious woodman with a draught of his own liquor; 
and the rather, because these kinds of secrets are not yet sufficiently culti- 
vated ; and ingenious planters should by all means be encouraged to make 
more trials of this nature, as the Indians and other nations have done on 
their Palms and trees of several kinds, to their great emolument. The 
mystery is no more than this : About the beginning of March, (when the 
buds begin to be proud and turgid, and before they expand into leaves,) 
with a chisel and a mallet, cut a slit almost as deep as the very pith, 
under some bough or branch of a well-spreading Birch ; cut it oblique, 
and not long-ways, (as a good surgeon would make his orifice in a vein,) 
inserting a small stone or chip^ to keep the lips of the wound a little open. 
Sir Hugh Piatt, (giving a general rule for the gathering of sap and tap- 
ping of trees,) would have it done within one foot of the ground, the first 
rind taken off, and then the white bark slit over-thwart, no farther than 
to the body of the tree : Moreover, that this wound be made only in that 
part of the bark which respects the south, west, or between those quar- 
ters ; because, says he, little or no sap riseth from the northern, nor in- 
deed when the east wind blows. In this slit, by the help of your 
knife to open it, he directs that a leaf of the tree be inserted, first fitted 
to the dimensions of the slit, from which the sap will distil in manner of 
filtration. Take away the leaf, and the bark will close again, a little 
earth being clapped to the slit. Thus the Knight, for any tree. We 
have already shown how the Birch is to be treated : Fasten therefore a 
bottle, or some such convenient vessel appendant ; this does the effect 
as well as perforation, or tapping : Out of this aperture will extil a 
limpid and clear water, retaining art obscure smack both of the taste and 
odour of the tree ; which (as I am credibly informed) will, in the space of 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



233 



twelve or fourteen days, preponderate and outweigh the whole tree itself, CH. XVIII. 
body and roots ; which if it be constant, and so happen likewise in other S*'"v"'^ 
trees, is not only stupendous, but an experiment worthy the consideration 
of ourprofoundest philosophers: An eoc sola aquafiunt arboresf Whether 
water only be the principle of vegetables, and consequently of trees. I say, 
I am credibly informed; and therefore the late unhappy angry man* might * Dr. Stubbs. 
have spared his animadversion : For he that said but twenty gallons run, 
does he know how many more might have been gotten, out of larger 
apertures, at the insertion of every branch and foot in the principal roots 
during the whole season ! But I conceive I have good authority for my 
assertion, out of the author cited in the margin f, whose words are these : ■f Aditus 
Si mense Maftio loerforaveris Betulam exstillaUt aqua liinpida, clara et cuitassympa- 
piira, obscurum arhoris sapor em et odo?^em referens,quce,spacioocii aut ociv paihis cfu"as 
dierim, pra;ponderahit arbori cum ramis et radicibus ^ His exceptions Acfas'ii'vestro 
about the beginning of March are very insignificant, since I undertake SguensJ""' 
not punctuality of time ; and his own pretended experience showed him, less, p. 5s. 
that in hard weather it did not run till the expiration of the month, or 
beginning of April, and another time on the tenth of February ; and 
usually, he says, about the twenty-fourth day, &c. at such uncertainty : 
AVhat immane difference then is there between the twenty-fourth of Fe- 
bruary and the commencement of March ? Besides, these anomalous 
bleedings, even of the same tree, happen early or later, according to the 
temper of the air and weather. In the mean time, evident it is, that we 
know of no tree which does more copiously attract, be it that so much 
celebrated spirit of the world, as they call it, in form of water, (as some,) 
or a certain specific liquor richly impregnated with this balsamical pro- 
perty : That there is such a magnes in this simple tree, as does manifestly 
draw to itself some occult and wonderful virtue, is notorious ; nor is it 
conceivable, indeed, the difference between the efficacy of that liquor 
which distils from the bole, or parts of the tree nearer to the root, (where 
Sir Hugh would celebrate the incision,) and that which weeps out from 
the more sublime branches, more impregnated with this astral virtue, as 

« Dr. Rush of Philadelphia, in his account of the Sugar-Maple, informs us, that in the 
course of twenty-four hours, (April 14, 1798,) there flowed from a single tree of the Sugar- 
Maple, that had been tapped for several successive years, near twenty-three gallons of sap ; 
but he says, that such instances are rare, the usual quantity being about five gallons in pro- 
mising weather, for several days together. 

Volume I. Go 



234 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. not so near the root, which seems to attract rather a cruder and more 
"""y^'^ common water, through fewer strainers, and neither so pure and aerial as 
in those refined percolations, the nature of the places where these trees 
delight to grow (for the most part lofty, dry, and barren) considered. But 
I refer these disquisitions to the learned ; especially, as mentioned by 
that incomparable Philosopher, and my most noble friend, theHonourable 
IMr. Boyle, in his Second Part of the Usefulness of Natural Philosophy, 
Essay iv. where he speaks of the Manna del Corpo, or Trunk-manna, as 
well as of that liquor from the bough ; also of the Sura, which the Cocoa- 
trees afford ; and that Polonian secret of the liquor of the AValnut-tree 
root ; with an encouragement of more frequent experiments, to educe 
saccharine substances upon these occasions : But the book being 
published so long since this Discourse was first printed, I take only here 
the liberty to refer the reader to one of the best entertainments in the 
world. 

But now, before we expatiate farther concerning saps, it is bysome 
controverted, whether this exhaustion would not be an extreme detriment 
to the growth, substance, and other parts of trees. As to the growth and 
bulk, if after what I have observed of a Birch, which has for very many years 
been perforated at the usual season, besides the scars made in the bark, 
it still thrives, and is grown to a prodigious substance, the species con- 
sidered ; what it would effect in other trees, the Vine excepted when 
unseasonably lanced, I know not. 

4. Whilst the second edition was under my hand, there came to me 
divers papers upon this subj ect, experimentally made by a worthy friend 
of mine, a learned and most industrious person, which I had here once 
resolved to have published, according to the generous liberty granted me 
for so doing ; but understanding he was still in pursuit of that useful and 
curious secret, I changed my resolution into an earnest address, that he 
would comrriunicate it to the world himself, together with those other 
excellent inquiries and observations, which he is adorning for the benefit 
of planters, and such as delight themselves in those innocent rusticities. 
I will only, by way of corollary, hint some particulars for the satisfaction 
of the curious ; and especially that we may in some sort gratify those 
•Mr. Olden- camcst suggcstious and queries of the late most obliging publisher* of 
the Philosophical Transactions, to whose indefatigable pains the learned 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



235 



world has been infinitely engaged. In compliance therefore to his queries, CH. XVIII. 
Monday, October 19, 1668, No. xl. p. 797, 801, &c. these generals are ^--^''v*-^ 
submitted : That in such trials, as my friend essayed, he has not yet en- 
countered with any sap but what is very clear and sweet, especially that 
of the Sycamore, which has a dulcoration as if mixed with sugar, and 
that it runs one of the earliest : That the Maple distiUed when quite 
rescinded from the body, and even whilst he yet held it in his hand : 
That the Sycamore ran at the root, which some days before yielded no 
sap from the branches ; the experiment made at the end of March. But 
the accurate knowledge of the nature of sap, and its periodic motions 
and properties in several trees, should be observed by some at entire 
leisure to attend it daily and almost continually, and will require more 
than any one person's industry can afford ; for it must be inquired con- 
cerning every tree, its age, soil, situation, &c. the variety of its ascending 
sap depending on it ; and then of its sap ascending in the branches and 
roots ; descending in cut branches ; ascending from root, and not from 
branches ; the seasons and difference of time in which those accidents 
happen, &c. He likewise thinks the best expedient to procure store of 
liquor, is to pierce the trees almost quite through all the circles, on both 
sides the pith, leaving only the outmost circle, and the barks on the north 
or north-east side unpierced ; and this hole, the larger it is bored, the 
more plentifully it will distil ; which if it be under and through a k.rge 
arm near the ground^ is effected with greatest advantage, and will need 
neither stone nor chip to keep it open, nor spigot to direct it to the reci- 
pient. Thus it will, in a short time, afford liquor sufficient to brew with ; 
and in some of these sweet saps, one bushel of malt will afford as good 
ale as four in ordinary waters, even in March itself; in others, as good as 
two bushels ; for this, preferring the Sycamore before any other : But to 
preserve it in best condition for brewing, till you are stored with a suffi- 
cient quantity, it is advised, that what first runs be insolated, and placed 
in the sun, till the remainder be prepared, to prevent its growing sour ; 
but it may also be fermented alone, by such as have the secret. To the 
curious these essays are recommended : That it be immediately stopped up 
in the bottles in which it is gathered, the corks well waxed, and exposed 
to the sun, till, as was said, a sufficient quantity be run ; then let so much 
rye-bread (toasted very dry, but not burnt) be put into it, as will serve to 
set it a working ; and when it begins to ferment, take it out, and bottle 
it immediately. If you had a few cloves, &;c. to steep in it, it will cer- 

O o 2 



236 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. tainly keep the year about : It is a wonder how speedily it extracts the 
taste and tincture of the spice. Mr. Boyle proposes a sulphureous fume 
to the bottles : Spirit of wine may haply not only preserve, but advance 
the virtues of saps ; and infusions of raisins are obvious, and without de- 
coction best, which does but spend the more delicate parts. Note, that 
the sap of the Birch Avill make excellent mead. 

5, To these observations, that of the weii^ht and virtue of the several 
juices, would be both useful and curious : As, whether that which pro- 
ceeds from the bark, or between that and the wood, be of the same nature 
with that which is supposed to spring from the pores of the woody circles ? 
And whether it rise in like quantity, upon comparing the incisures? All 
which may be tried, first attempting through the bark, and saving that « 
apart, and then perforating into the wood, to the thickness of the bark, 
or more, with a like separation of what distils. The period also of its 
current should be calculated ; as how much proceeds from the bark in 
one hour ; how much from the wood or body of the tree ; and thus every 
hour, with a still deeper incision with a good large auger, till the tree be 
quite perforated ; then by making a second hole within the first, fitted 
with a lesser pipe, the interior heart-sap may be drawn apart, and examined 
by weight, quantity, colour, distillation, &c. and if no difference percep- 
tible be detected, the presumption will be greater, that the difference of 
heart and sap in timber, is not from the sap's plenty or penury, but the 
season ; and then possibly the very season of squaring, as well as felling 
of timber, may be considerable to the preservation of it. 

6. The notice likewise of the sap's rising more plentifully and con- 
stantly in the sun than shade, more in the day than night, more in the roots 
than branches, more southward, and when that and the west wind blows, 
than northward, &c. may yield many useful observations: As for planting, 
to set thicker or thinner, ("j'i ccetera sint p«m, namely, the nature of the tree, 
soil, &c.) and not to shade overmuch the roots of those trees whose stems 
we desire should mount, &c. That in transplanting trees we turn the best 
and largest roots towards the south, and consequently the most ample and 
spreading part of the head corresponding to the roots : For if there be a 
strong root on that quarter, and but a feeble attraction in the branches, 
this may not always counterpoise the weak roots on the north-side, damni- 
fied by the too puissant attraction of over-large branches : This m.ay also 



OF FOREST-TREES. 2S7 

suggest a cause why trees flourish more on the south-side, and have their CH. xviii. 
integument and coats thicker on those aspects annually, with divers other '-^'V"^ 
useful speculations, if in the mean time they seem not rather to be punc- 
tilios over nice for a plain forester. Let the curious further consult the 
Philosophical Transactions, No. xliii, xliv, xlvi, xlviii, Ivii, Iviii, Ixviii, 
Ixx, Ixxi, for farther instances and trials upon this subject of sap ; also 
that excellent treatise of Hen. Meibomius, De Cerevisiis Potihusque et 
Ehriaminihus extra Vinum, annexed to Turnehus de Vino, Sgc. where he 
shows how, and by whom, after the first use of water and milk, were in- 
troduced the drinks made from vegetables, vines, corn, fruits, and juJces, 
tapped out of trees, 

7. To show our reader yet, that these are no novel experiments, we are 
to know, that a large tract of the world almost altogether subsists on these 
Treen liquors, especially that of the Date, whi ch being grown to about 
seven or eight feet in height, they wound, as we have taught, for the sap, 
which they call Toddy, a very famous drink in the East Indies. This 
tree increasing every year about a foot, near the opposite part of the first 
incisure, they pierce again, changing the receiver ; and so still, by oppo- 
site wounds and notches, they yearly draw forth the liquor, till it arrive 
to near thirty feet upward, and of these they have ample groves and 
plantations, which they set at seven or eight feet distance ; but then they 
use to percolate what they extract through a stratum made of the rind of 
the tree, well contused and beaten, before which preparation it is not 
safe to di'ink it ; and it is observed that some trees afford a much more 
generous wine than others of the same kind. In the Cocoa and Palmeto 
trees, they chop a bough, as we do the Betula ; but in the Date ^ make 



^ Mr. Evelyn seems to have been misinformed in the manner of procuring the juice from 
the Date-tree. Dr, Shaw, in his " Observations on several parts of Barbaiy and the Levant," 
describes the operation in the folio vring maimer: This C meaning the juice) they procure by 
cutting off the head or crown of the more vigorous plants, and scooping the top of the 
trunk into the shape of a basin ; where the sap, in ascending, lodges itself at the rate of 
three or four quarts a day, during the first week or fortnight ; after which the quantity 
daily diminishes, and at the end of six weeks, or two months, the juices are entirely con- 
sumed ; the tree then becomes dry, and serves only for timber or fire-. wood. This liquor, 
which has a more luscious sweetness than honey, is of the consistence of a thin sirup, but 
quickly grows tart and ropy, acquiring an intoxicating quality, and giving upon distillatioij 
an agreeable spirit of araky, according to the general names of these people for all hot 
liquors extracted by the Alembech. P. 142. 



238 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. the incision with a chisel in the body very neatly, in which they stick a 
■^^"^y^**^ leaf of the tree, as a lingula to direct it into the appendant vessel. 

8. The liquor of the Birch is esteemed to have all the virtues of the 
spirit of salt, without the danger of its acrimony ; most powerful for the 
dissolving of the stone in the bladder, bloody water, and strangury : Hel- 
mont shows how to make a beer of the water ; but the wine is a most 
rich cordial, curing, as I am told, consumptions, and such interior diseases 
as accompany the stone in the bladder or reins. The juice decocted with 
honey and wine, Dr. Needham affirms he has often cured the scorbut 
Hi-'n^gr'si ■with. This wine, exquisitely made, is so strong that the common sort of 
stone bottles cannot preserve the spirits, so subtle they are and volatile ; 
and yet it is gentle, and very harmless in operations within the body, and 
exceedingly sharpens the appetite, being drunk ante pastum : I will pre- 
sent you with a receipt, as it was sent me by a fair lady, which I have 
often, and still make use of 

To every gallon of Birch-water put a quart of honey, well stirred 
together ; then boil it almost an hour with a few cloves and a little lemon 
peel, keeping it well scummed ; when it is sufficiently boiled, and become 
cold, add to it three or four spoonfuls of good ale to make it work, which 
it will do like new ale ; and when the yest begins to settle, bottle it up 
as you do other winy liquors. It wiU, in a competent time, become a 
most brisk and spirituous drink, which, besides the former virtues, is a 
very powerful opener, doing wonders for cure of the phthisic : This 
wine may, if you please, be made as successfully with sugar, instead of 
honey, one pound to each gallon of water ; or you may dulcify it with 
raisins, and compose a raisin-wine of it. I know not whether the quan- 
tity of the sweet ingredients might not be somewhat reduced, and the 
operation improved : But I give it as received. The author of the Vine- 
tum Brit, boils it but a quarter, or half an hour, then setting it a coohng, 
adds a very little yest to ferment and purge it ; and so barrels it with a 
small proportion of cinnamon and mace bruised, about half an ounce of 
both to ten gallons, close stopped, and to be bottled a month after. Care 
must be taken to set the bottles in a very cool place, to preserve them 
from flying ; and the wine is rather for present drinking than of long- 
duration, unless the refrigeratory be extraordinarily cold. The very smell 
of the first springing leaves of this tree wonderfully recreates and ex- 
hilarates the spirits. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



239 



9. But besides these, Beech, Alder, Ash, Sycamore, Elder, &c. should 
be attempted for liquors : Thus Crabs, even our very Brambles, may 
possibly yield us medical and useful wines. The Poplar was heretofore 
esteemed more physical than the Birch. The sap of the Oak, juice or 
decoction of the inner bark, cures the farcy, a virulent and dangerous in- 
firmity in horses, and which, like the cancer, is reputed incurable by any 
other topic than some actual or potential cautery. But what is more 
noble, a dear friend of mine assured me, that a country neighbour of his, 
at least fourscore years of age, who had lain sick of a bloody strangury, 
(which by cruel torments reduced him to the very article of death,) was, 
under God, recovered to perfect and almost miraculous health and 
strength, so as to be able to fall stoutly to his labour, by one sole draught 
of beer, wherein was the decoction of the internal bark of the Oak-tree ^ ; 
and I have seen a composition of an admirable sudorific and diuretic for 
all affections of the liver, out of the like of the Elm, which might yet be 
drunk daily as our Coffee is, and with no less delight : But quacking is 
not my trade ; I speak only here as a plain husbandman and a simple 
forester ; out of the limits whereof, I hope, I have not unpardonably 
transgressed. Pan was a Physician, and he, you know, was President of 
the woods. But I proceed to the Alder. 



s This decoction is very proper in the complaint mentioned, when there is reason to 
suspect the cause to be a dissolved state of the blood, which is often the case ; but when 
the bloody urine proceeds from the irritation of a stone in the kidneys or bladder, this 
remedy will rather aggravate than mitigate the disease. 



240 



A DISCOURSE 



CHAP. XIX. 

The ALB E B"", 
BOOK I. 1. AlNUS, the ALDER, is of all other the most faithful lover of 



ground they attract the moisture from it^ and injure it. They are propa- 



According to the system of the celebrated Linnseus, this tree is classed with the Birch, 
under the title of BETULA ( alnus ) pedunculis ramosis. The common Alder. 

This tree belongs to llie class and order Monoecia Tetrandria, there being male and female 
flowers separately on the saitie plant, the male having four stamina. The catkins are formed 
about the sixteenth of September, and the flowers are in full blow about the twenty-sixth 
of March. The leaves begin to open about the seventh of April; 

The Alder is generally planted for coppice- wood, to be cut do'vfrn every ninth or tenth 
year for poles. These coppices are raised either from truncheons or young-trees, the 
latter of which is greatly preferable. In order to obtain a quantity of trees for this 
purpose, some suckers should be taken out of the meadows where the Alder-trees grow. 
These should be planted on a prepared piece of ground, and afterwards headed down for 
stools. By the succeeding autumn they will have shot out many young branches, which 
may be laid in the ground ; and by that time twelvemonth they will have taken root, 
when they should be removed from the stools> and planted in rows, to acquire a sufficient 
height to be above the weeds, when planted in the places where they are to remain. 
In one or two years they will be strong enough to be planted out for good. If the coppice 
is to stand upon boggy or watery ground, they may be removed from the nursery, and 
planted three feet asunder, the holes having been previously prepared to receive them. 
Here they may stand for six or seven years ; when every other tree should be taken away, 
and the rest cut down for stools. The stools will then be six feet asunder ; and as each 
stool will throw out many young branches for poles, they ought not to stand at a nearer 
distance. Every ninth or tenth year will afford a fall of these trees for poles ; and in per- 
forming this operation, they should be taken off smooth and fine, so that the stool may not 
be damaged, or hindered from producing a fresh cvopi. 

The other less eligible method, though perhaps least expensive, is performed by planting 
truncheons thi-ee feet long. Two of the feet must be thrust into the ground, having first 
widened a hole with a crow, or some such instrument, to preserve the bark from being 
rubbed off in planting. These should be set at the distance of one yard. But, at the time 
of the first fall, the planter must not expect to remove every other tree, for many of the 
truncheons will not grow ; neither have I ever seen a coppice, raised in this way, so luxuriant 
and beautiful as when raised from regular plants. 




watery and boggy places, and those most despised weeping parts, or 
water -galls of forests ; — crassisque paludibus ALni ; for, in better and drier 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



241 



o'ated of truncheons, and will come of seeds (for so they raise them CH. XIX. 
in Flanders, and make wonderful profit of the plantations) like the 
Poplar ; or of roots (which I prefer) being set as big as the small of one's 
leg, and in length about two feet, whereof one should be plunged in the 
mud. This profound fixing of aquatic trees is recommended to preserve 
them steady, and safe from the concussions of the winds and violence of 



After the truncheons are planted, the weeds should be kept down till the plants are shot 
out of their reach ; and after every fall, in the following winter, the stools ought to be 
looked over, and all the weak side-branches taken off. This will strengthen those which 
are already the strongest, and will enable them to shoot up more vigorously for poles. 

Alders planted by the sides of rivers, brooks, &:c. may be cut every eight or ten years, 
which will produce good profit, as well as keep the river in its proper channel. 

The Alder-tree will grow to the height of about thirty-five or forty feet, and its timber 
is very valuable for works intended to lie constantly under water, where it will harden, 
and last for ages. It is said to have been used under the Rialto at Venice ; and we are 
told by Vitruvius, that the morasses about Ravenna were piled with this timber, in order 
to lay the foundation for building upon. 

This tree admits of some varieties which are sought after for curious collections ; such 
as, — 1. The long-leaved American Alder; 2. The White Alder; 3. The Black Alder; 
4. The Hoary-leaved Alder; 5. The Dwarf Alder. This last grows upon bogs, and 
is with difficulty preserved in gardens, unless the soil be natui-ally moist and wet. The 
others have names assigned them from the different colours of the leaves and bark, except 
the first sort, which receives its title from the length of its leaves. This beautiful variety 
grows to about thirty feet in height, and merits a place in the choicest collections. It may 
be propagated by layers or cuttings. The branches are slender, smooth, numerous, and 
of a dark-brown or purple colour. The leaves are long, and free from that clammy, 
or glutinous matter, which is peculiar to those of the common Alder. They are smooth, 
oval, spear-shaped, and indented, which gives the tree an air of freedom in its luxuriant 
state. I have seen the leaves as late as December, at which time the tree has the 
appearance of an evergreen. 

From the experience of ages, the Alder is found to resist all impressions made upon 
it by water, which single consideration ought to induce us to increase our plantations 
of this tree. In Flanders, and in Holland, it is raised in abundance for the purpose 
of making piles for the support of buildings erected in moist and boggy places. " Alnus 
autem, quae proxime fluminum ripis procreatur, et minime materies utilis videtur, habet 

in se egregias rationes : etenim — in palustribus locis infra fundamenta tedificiorum, 

palationibus crebre fixa, recipiens in se quod minus habet in corpore liquoris, permanet 
imraortalis ad aeternitatem, et sustinet immania pondera structurse, et sine vitiis con- 
servat." — Vitruv. lib. ii. 

The Alder produces a kind of cone which contains thfe seed. In some places abroad, 
this tree is raised from seed ; and f am told that Mr. Stephens, of Camerton, near Bath, 
raises them in that manner with great success. 

V olume I. P P 



242 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. waters, in tlieir liquid and slippery foundations. They may be placed at 
^^^"^ lour or five feet distance, and when they have struck root, you may cut 
them, which will cause them to spring in clumps, and to shoot out into 
many useful poles. But if you plant smaller sets, cut them not till they 
are arrived to some competent bigness, and that in a proper season, 
which is, for all the aquatics and soft woods, not till winter be well 
advanced, in regard of their pithy substance : Therefore, such as you 
shall have occasion to make use of before that period, ought to be well 
grown, and felled with the earliest, and in the first quarter of the increas-. 
ing moon, that so the successive shoot receive no prejudice. Some, 
before they fell, disbark their Alders and other trees ; of which see 
book iii. chap. iii. But there is yet another way of planting Alders after 
the Jersey manner, which 1 received from a most ingenious gentleman of 
that country ; and that is, by taking truncheons of two or three feet long, 
at the beginning of winter, and to bind them in fagots, and place the 
ends of them in water, till towards the spring, by which season they will 
have contracted a swelling spire, or knur, about that part, which being 
set, does (like the Gennet-moil apple-tree) never fail of growing and 
striking root. There is a black sort more affected to woods and drier 
grounds, and bears a black berry, not so frequently found ; yet growing 
somewhere about Hampstead, as the learned Dr. Tancred Robinson 
observes,. 

2. There are a sort of husbands who take excessive pains in stubbing 
up their Alders, wherever they meet them in the boggy places of their 
grounds, with the same indignation as one would extirpate the most 
pernicious of weeds ; and when they have finished, know not how 
to convert their best lands to more profit than this (seeming despicable) 
plant might lead them to, were it rightly understood : Besides, the shadow 
of this tree does feed and nourish the very grass which grows under it ; 
and, being set and well plashed, is an excellent defence to the banks 
of rivers; sO as I wonder it is not more practised about the Thames, 
to fortify and prevent the mouldering of the walls from the violent 
weather they are exposed to. 

3. You may cut aquatic trees every third or fourth year, and some 
more frequently, as I shall show you hereafter. They should also 
be abated within half a foot of the principal head, to prevent the perish- 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



243 



ing of the main stock, and besides to accelerate their sprouting. In CH. xix 
setting the truncheons, it were not amiss to prepare them a little after ^"-^V^ 
they are fitted to the size, by laying them awhile in water ; this is also 
practicable in Willows, &c. 

4. Of old they made boats of the greater parts of this tree, and, except- 
ing Noah's Ark, the first vessels we read of were made of this material. 

Tunc alnos primum fluvii sensere cavatas. georg. i. 

When hollow Alders first the waters try'd. 

Nec non et torrentem undara levis innatat alnus 

Missa Pado ; georg. ii. 

And down the rapid Po light Alders glide. 

And as then, so now, are over-grown Alders frequently sought after for 
such buildings as lie continually under water, where it will harden like 
a very stone ; whereas, being kept in any unconstant temper, it rots im- 
mediately, because its natural humidity is of so near affinity w ith its 
adventitious, as Scaliger assigns the cause. Vitruvius tells us, that the 
morasses aboutRavenna in Italy were piled with this timber to superstruct 
upon, and highly commends it. I find also they used it under that 
famous bridge at Venice, the Rialto, which passes over the Grand Canal, 
bearing a vast weight. Joan. Bauhinus pretends, that in tract of time 
it turns to stone ; which perhaps it may seem to be, as well as other 
aquatics, where it meets with some lapidescent quality in the earth and 
water. 

5. The poles of Alder are as useful as those of Willows ; but the coals 
far exceed them, especially for gim-powder. The wood is likewise 
useful for piles, pumps, hop-poles, water-pipes, troughs, sluices, small 
trays and trenchers, wooden-heels ; the bark is precious to dyers, and 
some tanners and leather-dressers make use of it ; and with it and the 
fruit, instead of gall, they compose an ink. The fresh leaves alone applied 
to the naked sole of the foot, infinitely refresh the surbated traveller. 
The bark macerated in water, with a little rust of iron, makes a black 
dye, which may also be used for ink : The interior rind of the Black 

P p 2 



244 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I, Alder purges all hydropic and serous humours ; but it must be dried in 
'^'"^^^"^ the shade, and not used green, and the decoction suffered to settle two 
or three days before it be drunk. 

Being beaten with vinegar, it heals the itch certainly : As to other 
uses, the swelling bunches which are now and then found in the old 
trees, afford the inlayer pieces curiously chambleted, and very hard ; but 
the fagots are better for the fire than for the draining of groimds, by 
placing them (as the guise is) in the trenches ; which old rubbish of 
flint, stones, and the like gross materials, does infinitely exceed, because 
it is for ever, preserves the drains hollow, and being a little moulded 
over, will produce good grass, without any detriment to the ground ; but 
this is a secret not yet well understood, and would merit an express 
paragraph, were it here seasonable. 

I et jam nos inter opacas 

Musa vocat Salices ' ■ ■ • ^ • ■ > 



OF FOEEST-TREES. 



^45 



CHAP. XX. 



The WITHY, SALLOW, OZIER, and WILLOW'. 

1. SaLIX, the WILLOW. Since Cato has attributed the third place CHAP. XX, 
to the Salictum, preferring it even next to the very Ortyard, and (what ^*-*'~y-'**^ 
one would wonder at) before even the Olive, Meadow, or Corn-field itself, 
I have thought good to be the more particular in my discourse upon 



' Of this GENUS there are thirty-one species, but I shall only enumerate such as are 
planted in this country for use. The species are : 

1. SALIX ( ALBA ) foliis lanceolatis acuminatis serratis utrinque pubescentibus ; serraturis 
infimis glandulosis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1449. Willow with spear-shaped, acute-rpointed, sawed 
leaves, which are downy on both sides, and glands below the saws. Salix vulgaris alba 
arborescens. C. B. P. 453. The white willow. 

This is the common White Willow, which is frequently found growing on the sides of rivers 
and ditches in many parts of England, It grows to a l^rge size, if the branches are not 
hipped off ; the shootsare covered with a smooth, pale, green bark ; the leaves are spear- 
shaped, between three and four inches long, and nearly one broad in the middle, drawing 
to a point at each end ; they are very white on their under side, and their upper side 
is covered with short, white, woolly hairs, though not so closely as the under ; the catkins 
are short and pretty thick. The wood is very white, and polishes smooth, on which account 
it is much sought after for milk-pails, &c. 

a. SALIX f TRi^NDRi^ J foliis serratis glabris, floribus triandris. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1442, 
Willow with smooth, sawed leaves, and jlowers having three stamina. Salix, folio auriculato 
splendente, flexilis. Raii Hist. 1420, Willow with lucid-eared leaves and flexible branches. 
The smooth willow. 

This sort grows to be a large tree ; the young branches are covered with a grayish bark ; the 
leaves are smooth, and of a lucid green, ending in acute points ; they are eared at their base, 
and sawed on their edges, and are green on both sides ; the branches grow pretty erect and 
are flexible. This is frequently planted in Ozier grounds for the basket-maker. The 
catkins are long and narrow, and the scales open and acute-pointed. 

3. SALIX ('pENT^NDKiJj foliis serratis glabris, flosculis pentandris. Lin, Sp, PI. 1442= 
Willow with smooth, sawed leaves, arid Jlowers having Jive stamina. Salix folio laureo, seu lato 
glabro odorato. Raii Hist, 1420, Willow with a harj-leaf, or broad-leaf, smooth and sweet" 
scented. The sweet willow. 



246 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. it ; especially, since so much of that which I shall publish concerning 
-"■"v-"*^ Willows, is derived from the long experience of a most learned and 
ingenious person, from whom I acknowledge to have received many 
of these hints. Not to perplex the reader with the various names, Greek, 



This has thick strong shoots covered with a dark-green bark ; llie leaves are broad, and 
rounded at both ends ; they are very smooth, sawed on (heir edges, and when rubbed have 
a grateful smell. It is sometimes called the Bay-leaved Willow, and is a tree of quick growth. 
The branches are brittle, which makes them improper for many purposes. 

4. SALIX (vitellina) foliis serratis ovatis acutis glabris; serraturis cartilagineis, 
petiolis calloso-punctatis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1442. Willow with smooth, oval, acute, sawed leaves, 
having cartilaginous bideyitures, and foot-stalks with callous punctures. Salix sativa lutea, folio 
crenato. C. B. P. 473. Yellow ctdtivated Willow with a crenated leaf. The golden tvillow. 

This sort has slender tough shoots, which are of a yellow colour ; the leaves are oval, acute- 
pointed, smooth, and sawed on their edges; the saws are cartilaginous, and the foot-stalks 
of the leaves have callous punctures. Being very pliable, it is much planted in the Ozier 
grounds for the basket-maker, but it never grows to a large size. 

5. SALIX C AMYGDALiNA ) foliis serratis glabris lanceolatis petiolatis, stipulls trapezi- 
formibus. Lin. Sp. PI. 1443. Willow with smooth, spear-shaped, sawed leaves, having foot- 
stalks, and trapezium-shaped stipulce. Salix folio amygdalino utrinque virente aurito. — 
C. B. P. 43. Almond-leaved Willow with leaves which are eared, and green on both sides. 
The almond-leaved willow. 

This is a willow of the middle size, sending forth numerous, flexible tough branches, covered 
with a light green bark. The leaves are spear-shaped, smooth, servjited, acute, eared at their 
base, and of a light green colour on both sides. The flowers are oblong catkins, which turn 
to a light down in the summer. There are several sorts of this species which are of inferior 
value; but this is generally distinguished from the others by the name of the Old Almond- 
leaved Willow. The branches are very tough and flexible, and when planted in the Ozier 
way, and grown one year fiom the stools, are very strong ; and highly serviceable for the 
dilferent purposes of basket-making. 

6. SALIX f FRAGiLis ) foliis serratis glabris ovato-lanceolatis, petiolis dentato-glandulosis. 
Lin. Sp. PI. 1442. Willow with oval, spear-shaped, smooth, sawed leaves, and dentated glan- 
dular foot-stalks. Salix folio longo latoque splendente, fragilis. Rail Syn, 3. p. 448. The 

cnACK WILLOW. 

This grows to a middle size ; the shoots are covered with a brownish bark, and very brittle, 
so are unfit for the basket-maker. The leaves are near five Inches long, and one broad, are 
of a lucid green on both sides, and sawed on their edges ; the catkins are long and slender, 
and the scales are pretty long, acute-pointed, and stand open. It is commonly called the 
Crack Willow, from the branches being very brittle. 

7- SALIX (purpurea) foliis serratis glabris lanceolatis; inferioribus oppositis. — 
Lin. Sp. PI. 1444. Wilhw with smooth, spear-shaped, sawed leaves, the hwer of which grow 



\ 



OF FOREST-TREES. 247 

Gallic, Sabinian, Amerine, &c. better distinguished by their growth CHAP. XX. 
and bark, and by Latin authors all comprehended under that of Salices, '"^^^^'^ 
our English books reckon them promiscuously thus : The Common 
White Willow, the Black, and the Hard Black, the Rose of Cambridge, 



opposite. Salix folio longo subluteo non auriculato, viminibus rubris. Rail Syn. 450.—- 
The purple willow. 

This is a tree of middling_size ; the shoots are very pliable, and fit for the basket-maker, which 
recommends it for the Ozier grounds ; they are of a reddish colour ; the leaves are spear- 
shaped, smooth, and sawed on their edges: those on the lower part of the branches are 
placed opposite, but on the upper they are alternate, and of a yellowish green. 

S. SALIX CriMiNALis J foliis subintegerrimis lanceolato-linearibus longissimis acutis 
subtus sericeis, ramis virgatis. Lin. Sp, PI, 14i48. Willow with the longest, linear, spear- 
shaped, acute leaves, which are almost entire, and silky on their under side, and rod-like branches. 
Salix foliis angustis et longissimis crispis subtus albicantibus. J, B. i, p. 212. Willow 
with the longest, narrow, curled leaves, which are white on their under side. The ozier. 

The Ozier is a tree of low growth, though the shoots grow amazingly long and strong in one 
year from the stools. The leaves are spear-shaped, narrow, long, acute, [almost entire, 
of a blueish green on their upper side and hoary underneath, and grow on very short foot- 
stalks, 1'his is the most propagated of all the kinds for basket- making : It admits of several 
sorts of difftrent value, but all are useful to the basket-maker. The varieties usually go by 
the names of the Green Ozier, the Old Basket Ozier, Welsh Wicker, &c. 

9. SALIX ( RUBRA ) foliis integerrimis glabris lineari-lanceolatis acutis. Huds. Flor. 
Angl. 428. Willow uith entire, linear, spear-shaped, smooth leaves. Salix minime fragilis foliis 
longissimis iitrinque viridibus, non serratis. Raii Syn. 449. The least brittle Willow, with 
very long leaves which are green on both sides, and not sawed. The red willow. 

This sort having very pliant branches, is much planted in the Ozier grounds. The leaves are 
very long ; are spear-shaped and entire, and green on both sides. It grows to a middling 
size, if planted in moist land. 

10. SALIX fBABYLONicA ) foliis serratis glabris lineari-lanceolatis, ramis pendulis. — 
Lin. Sp. PI. 1443. Willow with smooth, sawed, linear, spear-shaped leaves, and hanging branches. 
Salix Orientalis, flagellis deorsum pulchre pendentibus. Tourn. Cor. 41. The Babylo- 
nian, or WEEPING WILLOW. 

The Weeping Willow of Babylon grows to a considerable size. Its branches are long, slender, 
and pendulous, which makes it proper to be planted upon the banks of rivers, ponds, and 
over springs ; the leaves are long and narrow; and when any mist or dew falls, a drop of 
water is seen hanging at their extremities, v/hich, together with the banging branches, gives 
this tree a most mournful look. On that account, garlands of forsaken lovers were made 

of the twigs of this Willow. " 1 offered him my company to a Willow-tree, to make him 

a garland as being forsaken." — shakspeare. 

It is probable that under those trees the children of Israel mourned their captivity. " By the 
rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion : We hanged 
our harps upon the Willows in the midst thereof." — psalms. 



248 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. the JBlack Withy, the Round Long- Sallow, the Longest Sallow, the Crack 
"^"^'''^^ Willow, the Round-eared Shining A¥illow, the lesser Broad-leaved 
Willow, Silver Sallow, Upright Broad Willow, Repent Broad-leaved, the 
Redstone, the Lesser Willow, the Straight Dwarf, the Yellow Dwarf, 



11. SALIX (^hjElia J foliis serratis glabris lanceolato-linearibus, superioribus oppositis 
obliquis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1444. Willow milh linear, spear-shaped, smooth, sawed leaves, the upper 
of which are placed obliquely opposite. Salix liumilior, foliis angustis subcaeruleis ex adverso 
binis. Rail Syn. 2. p. 297- '^^he rose willow. 

The Rose- Willow is of much lower growth than the former. The body of the tree is covered 
with a rough, yellow bark. The branches are upright, tough, and of a reddish colour. Tlie 
leaves are spear-shaped, narrow, smooth, of a blueish green colour, and, towards the upper 
part of the branches, are nearly opposite to each other. The flowers come out from the sides 
of the branches, and numbers of them are joined together in a rose like manner, forming a 
singular and beautiful appearance. This however is not a flower, but an accidental excres- 
cence, occasioned by a wound made in the bark of the tender branches by a certain fly, for 
the reception of its egg, which soan produces a worm. This insect is minutely described by 
Swammerdam in his " Book of Nature." Our old English botanists being unacquainted 
with this part of natural history, supposed the tree a distinct species, and called it Salix 
Rosea. 

12. Sx\LIX C CAPREA ) foliis ovatis rugosis, subtus tomentosis, undatis superne denticulatis, 
Lin. Sp. PI. 1448. Willow with oval, rough leaves which are waved, woolly on their under side, 
and indented towards the top. Salix latifolia rotunda. C. B. P. 474. The sallow. 

The Sallow is well known all over England, and delights in a dry rather than a moist soil. It 
is a tree rather below the middle growth. The branches are brittle, smooth, of a dark 
green colour, and their chief use is for hurdle-wood and the fire ; though the trunk, or old 
wood, is admirable for several uses in the turnery way. The leaves are oval, rough, waved, 
indented at the top, and woolly underneath. The catkins are very large and white ; they 
appear early in the spring, and are much resorted to by the bees, on their first coming cut of 
their hives at that early season. — There is a variety of this species with long leaves, which 
end in acute points ; and another with smooth leaves, beautifully striped with white, called 
the Striped Sallow. 

13. SALIX C HERMAPHRODiTicA ) follis serratis glabris, floribus hermaphroditis diandris. 
Lin. Sp. PI. 1442. Salix latifolia folio splendente. Rail Syn. 450. The shining willow. 

This is a large growing tree, sending forth several slender branches, which hang down, and are 
covered with a pale brown bark. The leaves are smooth, glandalous, serrated, and of a 
yellowish green colour. The flowers are numerous hairy catkins, and the male flowers have 
two stamina only. They appear early in the spring ; and the females are succeeded by 
downy seeds, like the common Willow. 

14. SALIX (PHYLiciFOLiA) foliis serratis glabris lanceolatis : crenis undatis. Lin. Sp. 
PI. 1442. The phylica-leaved willow. 

This is a tree of lower growth than the former. The branches are numerous, flexible, tough, 
and serviceable for several articles in the basket-way. The leaves are spear-shaped, smoot!)> 



OF FOREST-TREES. 249 

the Long-leaved Yellow Sallow, the Creeper, the Black low Willow, the cHAP. XX. 
Willow-bay, and the Ozier. 1 begin with the Withy. ^-^"y^ 

2. The Withy is a reasonably large tree, (for some have been found withy. 



serrated, and waved on their edges. The flowers are long catkins, which come out early in 
the spring from the sides of the branches, and they soon aiford a large quantity of down. 

15. SALIX C HASTATA J foliis serratis glabris subovatis acutis sessilibus, stipulis subcordatis. 
Lin. Sp. PI. 14)43. The hastated willow. 

This a middle-sized tree, sending out several long green shoots from the stools, which are 
very full of pith, but nevertheless tough and useful for the basket-maker. The leaves are 
nearly oval, acute, smooth, serrated, sit close to the branches, and have very broad appendices 
to their cases. The flowers are an oblong yellow catkin, and come out in the spring from 
the sides of the young shoots. 

The Willow belongs to the class and order Bioecia Diandria, having male and female 
flowers on separate plants, and whose male-flowers have two stamina. The flowers of that 
species called the Sallow, make their appearance about the eleventh of March, and the 
leaves are out by the seventh of April. The leaves of the Weeping Willow appear about 
the first of that month ; and the buds of the White Willow swell about the tenth. By the 
eighteenth, the leaves are quite out, and the flowers full blown. The catkins of the Sallow 
are formed about the fifth of October. 

The Willow, Sallow, and Ozier, from the quickness of their growth, naturally claim the 
attention of such gentlemen as have lands suitable to their cultivation ; and indeed the im- 
mediate profit that they yield makes them a desirable object of attention. In order to 
raise a bed of Oziers the ground should be dug over, or ploughed ; but where expense is 
not a consideration, the preference should be given to the spade. The cuttings must then 
be procured ; and although they should consist chiefly of the true Ozier kinds, yet other 
sorts must be introduced into the Ozier bed^ to make it complete, and more useful to the 
basket^-makei-, who will want the different sorts for the different purposes of his trade. 
Besides the true Ozier, of which the plantation is chiefly to consist, there must be the 
Sallow, the long-shooting Green Willow, the Crane Willow, the Golden Willow, the Silver 
Willow, the Welch Wicker, &c. ; by which names they are best known. 

The cuttings should be of two years' wood, though the bottom parts of the strongest 
one-year shoots may do. They ought to be two feet and a half long, a foot and a half of 
which should be thrust into the ground, and the other foot should remain for the stool. 
These cuttings should be put in at two feet two inches distance each way ; and all the sum* 
mer following, the weeds must be kept under ; the summer after that, the tallest of the 
weeds should be hacked down. The Willows must continue growing for three years, 
when they should be all cut down to the first-planted head. They will sell well to the 
hurdle-maker ; and there will be a regular quantity of proper stools left, to exhibit an an- 
nual crop of twigs, which will be worth five or six pounds, or more, per acre, to be sold to 
the basket-maker. But the price of the twigs is greater or less, in proportion to the nature 

V dlime I. Q q 



250 ' A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. ten feet about,) and is fit to be planted on high banks, and ditch-sides 
•^~Y^^ within reach of water, and the weeping sides of hills, because it extends 
its root deeper than either Sallows or Willows. For this reason, you 
should plant them at te)i or twenty feet distance; and though they grow 
the slowest of all the twiggy trees, yet do they recompense it with the larger 
crop, the wood being tough, and the twigs fit to bind strongl}' ; the very 



of the situation. Watery ground, by the sides of navigable rivers, planted in this manner, 
will produce a greater price per acre ; because near such places there generally reside a 
number of basket-makers, who, having the conveniency of water-carriage, can send their 
work, with more ease, to distant places. 

Plantations of these kinds may not only be regularly made to great advantage on watery 
land, by the sides of rivers^ bat the very islands, or any part where there is mud or earth, 
may be planted this way, to the great profit of the proprietor. And here suffer me to give 
one caution in the planting of these places : Let the rows, which should always run the 
same way with the stream, be at a greater distance from each other, and the cuttings pro- 
portionably closer in the rows. I advise the distance of the rows to be greater in these 
places, that the floods may have free liberty to carry olF the sludge, which would otherwise 
^ be detained to the prejudice of the sets. Plantations of Willows to be cut down every 

six or seven years for poles, should l)e raised in the same manner, remembering that the 
sets should be placed at a greater distance, viz. one yard ; but when designed for hurdles, to 
be cut every second or third year, the distance need not be so great. 

In order to raise a Salictum, or Plantation of Willows for timber, the ground must be 
dug or ploughed; and the cuttings for this purpose should be of the last year's shoot. 
They ought to be a foot and a half long, and a foot of each should be thrust into the 
ground, at the distance of three feet each way. The latter end of May, or the beginning 
of June, the plantation should be looked over ; when such sets as have shot out too luxu- 
riantly should have all the branches removed, except the strongest leading shoot. All 
this summer and the next, the weeds must be kept down ; afterwards, the trees will demand 
no farther care till the time of thinning, Avhich will be in about five or six years. When 
the branches interfere with each other, the weakest tree should be grubbed up and taken 
away, to make room for the remainder. In five or six years more they will require a second 
thinning. In this manner they must he thinned as often as they touch one another, till 
the trees are arrived to their full maturity. By planting the cuttings a yard asunder at 
first, and afterwards thinning of them, they not only draw each other up, and by that means 
aspire to a great height, but the plants taken away to make room for the strongest, will 
bring in a considerable profit when sold as poles. 

The sorts used for plantations of these trees have hitherto been the common white and red 
/ Willow. These, however, seem now to give place to other kinds which have been lately 

introduced. 

Sets proper to be planted by the sides of ditches, &c. for pollards, should be nine feet 
in length, two feet and a half of which must be thrust into the ground, having first pre. 
pared the way by driving down a crow, or some such instrument, to prevent the bark from 



OF FOUEST-TKEES. 



251 



peelings of the branches being useful to bind arbour-poling, and in topiary CHAP, 
works, vineyards, espalier-fruit, and the like : And we are told of some ""^^ 
that have been twisted into ropes of an hundred and twenty paces, 
serving instead of cables. There are two principal sorts of these Withies, 
the Hoary, and the Red Withy, which is the Greek ; toughest and fittest 
to bind, whilst the twigs are flexible and tender. 



separating from the stem. After they are planted, they should be thorned from cattle ; 
and in five or six years they will be fit for lopping ; and thus they may continue to be lopped 
every fifth or sixth year, to the improvement of ditch-sides, water-gutters, &c. were it only 
for the fuel, as it emits little smoke, and is remarkably sweet ; it burns pure and clear to 
the last, and therefore proper for ladies' chambers, and such people as are curious in pro- 
curing the sweetest sorts of fire-wood. 

Willows may be planted in the autumn, but the spring is the surest season. The plant- 
ing, however, should not be delayed later than February, as the shoots of the succeeding 
year would not only be retarded, but the stools from whence they were taken greatly in« 
jured. 

Amongst the ancients, the Willow was appropriated to many uses, but it was chiefly cul- 
tivated for binders, to be employed in the vineyard. With them, every thing that regarded 
the cultivation of the Vine was attended to with scrupulous exactness ; and Columella, when 
describing the different things requisite for the vineyard, emphatically styles WiUows, Reeds, 
and Chestnut-trees, " the dowries," for vineyards. Of Willows, binders were made ; 
Reeds made frames ; and Chestnut-poles were employed for props. The quantity of land 
required for each of these is thus described by Columella. One acre (jugerum) of Willow- 
ground will raise binders sufficient for twenty-five acres of vineyard. A single acre planted 
with Reeds, is sufficient for furnishing frames for twenty acres ; an acre planted with 
Chestnut-trees is enough for propping as many acres as an acre planted with Reeds can 
furnish frames for. Lib. iv. cap. xxxl 

The ancient Britons used boats made of Wicker, covered with skins, for passing rivers 
and arms of the sea : 

Primum cana Salix madefacto vimine parvam 
Texitur in puppim, csesoque induta Juvenco, 
Vectoris patiens, tumidam superemicat amnem. , 
Sic Venetus, slagnaiite Pado, fusoque Britannus 

Navigat Ocedno. - -. . . . . ~ lucan. 

Besides these boats, our rude forefathers knew how to make baskets of Wicker, which 
were held in. estimation even at Rome. Of these Martial says, 

Barbara de pictis veni Bascauda Britannis : 
Sed me jam mavult dicere Roma sudm, 

Qq 2 



252 



A DISCOURSE 



3. Sallows grow much faster, if they are planted within reach of water, 
or in a very moorish ground, or flat plain ; and Avhere the soil is, by 
reason of extraordinary moisture, unfit for arable or meadow ; for in these 
cases it is an extraordinary improvement : in a word, where Birch and 
Alder will thrive. Ikfore you plant them, it is found best to turn the 
ground with a spade, especially if you design them for a flat. We have 
three sorts of Sallows amongst us, (which is one more than the ancients 
challenged, who name only tlie Black, and White, which was their 
Nitellina,) the Vulgar Round-leaved, which proves best in drier banks, 
and the Hopping Sallows, which require a moister soil, growing with 
incredible celerity ; and a third kind, of a different colour from the other 
two, having the twigs reddish, the leaf not so long, and of a more dusky 
green ; more brittle whilst it is growing in twigs, and more tough when 
arrived to a competent size. All of them useful for the Thatcher. 

4. Of these the Hopping Sallows are in greatest esteem, being of 
a clearer terse grain, and requiring a more succulent soil : best planted 
a foot deep, and a foot and a half above ground, (though some will allow 
but a foot,) for then every branch will prove excellent for future settlings. 
After three years' growth, being cropped the second and third, the first 
year's increase will be betwixt eight and twelve feet long generally ; the 
third year's growth, strong enough to make rakes and pike staves ; and 
the fourth, for Mr. Blithe's trenching plough, and other like utensils of 
the husbandman. 

5. If 3^ou plant them at full height, (as some do at four years' growth, 
setting them five or six feet in length, to avoid the biting of cattle,) they 
will be less useful for straight staves, and for settlings, and make less 
speed in their growth ; yet this also is a considerable improvement. 

6. These would require to be planted at least five feet distance, (some 
set them at much more,) and in the quincunx order : If they affect the 
soil, the leaf will become large, half as broad as a man's hand, and 
of a more vivid green, always larger the first year than afterwards : Some 
plant them sloping, and cross- wise, like a hedge ; but this impedes their 
wonderful growth ; and though Pliny seems to commend it, (teaching 
us how to excorticate some places of each set, for the sooner production 
of shoots,) it is but a deceitful fence, neither fit to keep out swine nor 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



253 



sheep; and being set too near, inclining to one another, they soon CHAP.XX. 
destroy each other. v,-*»-v^«w' 

7. The worst Sallows may be planted so near, yet as to be instead of 
stakes in a hedge, and then their tops will supply their dwarfishness ; and, 
to prevent hedge-breakers, many do thus plant them, because they can- 
not easily be pulled up after once they have struck root, 

8. If some be permitted to wear their tops five or six years, their palms 
will be very ample, and yield the first and most plentiful relief to bees, 
even before our Apricots blossom. The Hopping Sallows open and 
yield their palms before other Sallov/s ; and when they are blown, (which 
is about the exit of May, or sometimes June,) the palms (or ojhfj'.xapTroi, 
Frugiperdse, as Homer terms them) are four inches long, and full of a 
fine lanuginous cotton, Of this sort, there is a Salix near Darking, in 
Surrey, in which the Julus bears a thick cottonous substance : A poor 
body might in an hour's space gather a pound or two of it, which re- 
sembling the finest silk, might doubtless be converted to some profitable 
use by an ingenious housewife, if gathered in calm evenings, before the 
wind, rain, and dew impair them : I am of opinion, if it were dried with 
care, it might be fit for cushions, and pillows of chastity ; for such of old 
was the reputation of the shade of those trees. 

9. Of these Hopping Sallows, after three years' rooting, each plant will 
yield about a score of staves of full eight feet in length, and so following, 
for use, as we noted above. Compute then how many fair pike-staves, 
perches, and other useful materials, that will amount to in an acre, if 
planted at five feet interval ; but a fat and moist soil requires indeed 
more space than a lean or drier, namely, six or eight feet distance. 

10. You may plant settlings of the very first year's growth ; but the 
second year they are better, and the third year better than the second, 
and the fourth as good as the third, especially if they approach the water. 
A bank at a foot distance from the water, is kinder for them thaq a bog, 
or to be altogether immersed in the water. 

1 1. It is good to new-mould them about the roots every second or third 
year ; but men seldom take the pains. It seems that Sallows are mor^ 



254 



A DISCOURSE 



ROOK I. hardy than even Willows and Oziers ; of which Columella takes as much 
-'^'^y^-^ care as of Vines themselves. But it is cheaper to supply the vacuity of 
accidental decays by a new plantation, than to be at the charge of 
digging about them three times a-year, as that author advises, seeing 
some of them will decay whatever care be used. 

12. Sallows may also be propagated like Vines, by courbingand bow- 
ing them in arches, and covering some of their parts with mould, &:c. 
also by cuttings and layers, and some years by the seeds likewise. 

13. For settlings, those are to be preferred which grow nearest to the 
stock, and so (consequently) those worst which most approach the top. 
They should be planted in the first fair and pleasant weather in February, 
before they begin to bud : we about London begin at the latter end of 
December. They may be cut in spring for fuel, but best in autumn for 
use ; but in this work (as of Poplar) leave a twig or two, which being 
twisted arch-wise, will produce plentiful sprouts, and suddenly furnish a 
head. 

14. If in our copses every fourth set were a Sallow, amongst the rest of 
varieties, the profit would recompense the care ; therefore where in woods 
you grub up trees, thrust in truncheons of Sallows, or some aquatic kind. 
In a word, an acre or two furnished with this tree, would prove of great 
benefit to the planter. 

I 

15. The swift-growing Sallow is not so tough and hardy for some uses 
as the slower, which makes stocks for gardeners' spades ; but it is proper 
for rakes, pikes, mops, &c. Sallow-coal is the soonest consumed, but of 
all others the most easy and accommodate for painters' scriblets to design 
their work, and first sketches on paper, &c. as being fine, and apt to slit 
into pencils. Of the Sallow, (as of the Lime-tree,) are made the shoe- 
makers' carving or cutting- boards, as best to preserve the edge of their 
knives, for its equal softness every way* 

16. Oziers, or the aquatic and lesser Salix, are of innumerable kinds, 
commonly distinguished from Sallows, as Sallows are from Withies, being 
so much smaller than the Sallows, and shorter lived, and requiring more 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



255 



constant moisture, yet should be planted in rather a dryish ground, than CHAP. XX. 
over moist and spewing, which we frequently cut trenches to avert. It ^-•^"Y'V/ 
likewise yields more limber and flexible twigs for baskets, flaskets, ham- 
pers, cages, lattices, cradles, &c. It is of excellent use for the bodies of 
coaches and waggons, being light, durable, and neat, as it may be wrought 
and covered. It is good for chairs, hurdles, stays, bands, the stronger 
for being contused and wreathed ; likewise for fish- weirs, and to support 
the banks of impetuous rivers : In fine, for all wicker and twiggy works ; 

Viminibus Salices Virg. 

17. But these sorts of Oziers should be cut in the new shoot ; for if they 
stand longer they become more inflexible : Cut them close to the head, a 
foot or so above the earth, about the beginning of October, unless you 
will attend till the cold be past, which is better ; and yet we about Lon- 
don cut them in the most piercing seasons, and plant them also till 
Candlemas, which those who do not observe, we judge ill husbands, as 
I learn from a very experienced basket-maker ; and in the decrease, for 
the benefit of the workman, though not altogether for that of the stock, 
and succeeding shoot. A¥hen they are cut, make them up into bundles, 
and give them shelter ; but such as are for white work, as they call it, 
being thus fagotted and made up in bolts, as their term is, severing each 
sort by themselves, should be set in water, the ends dipped ; and indeed 
all peeled wares of the vimineous kind are not otherwise preserved from 
the worm ; but for black and luipeeled, shelter them under covert only, 
or in some vault or cellar, to keep them fresh, sprinkling them now and 
then in excessive hot weather : The peelings of the former, or rather the 
splicings, are for the use of the gardener and cooper. 

18. We have in England these three vulgar sorts; one of little worthy 
being brittle, and very much resembling the fore-mentioned Sallow, with 
reddish twigs, and more greenish and rounder leaves : Another kind there 
is, called Perch, of limber and green twigs, having a very slender leaf. 
The third sort is totally like the second, only the twigs are not altogether 
so green, but yellowish, and near the Popinjay : This is the very best for 
use, being tough and hardy. But the most usual names b}'' which basket- 
makers call them about London, and which are all of different species, 
therefore to be planted separately, are, the Hard Gelster, the Horse 



256 



A DISCOUHSE 



BOOK I. Gelster, Whining, or Shrivelled Gelster, the Black Gelster, with which 
-^"Y^^ Suffolk abounds. Then follow the Golstones, the Hard, and the Soft 
Golstone ; (brittle and worst of all the Golstones ;) the Sharp and Slender- 
topped Yellow Golstone ; the Fine Golstone : Then is there the Yellow 
Ozier, the Green Ozier, the Snake or Speckled Ozier, Swallow-tail, and 
the Spaniard : To these we may add (for they are governed and used 
alike) the Flanders Willow, which will arrive to be a large tree, as big 
as one's middle, the oftener cut the better ; with these our coopers tie 
their hoops to keep them bent. Lastly, the White Sallow, which being 
of one or two years' growth, is used for green-work ; and of the toughest 
sort they make quarter-can hoops, of which, for our seamen, great 
quantities are provided. 

19. These choicer sorts of Oziers, which are ever the smallest, also the 
Golden Yellow and White, which is preferred for propagation and to 
breed of, should be planted of slips of two or three years' growth, a foot 
deep, and half a yard in length, in moorish grounds or banks, or else in 
furrows ; so that, as some direct, the roots may frequently reach the 

water, Fluminihus Salices though we commonly find it rots them, and 

therefore never choose, to set them so deep as to scent it. 

20. The season for planting is January, and all February, though some 
not till Mid-February, at two feet square ; but cattle being excessively 
liquorish of their leaves and tender buds, some talk of graffing them out 
of reach upon Sallows, and by this to advance their sprouting ; but as the 
work would consume time, so have I never seen it succeed. 

21. Some do also plant Oziers, in tlieir Eyghts, like Quick-sets, thickj 
and (near the water) keep them not more than half a foot above ground ; 
but then they must be dilig'ently cleansed from moss, slab, and ouze, and 
frequently pruned, especially the smaller spires, to form single shoots, at 
least that few, or none, grow double ; these they head every second year 
about September, the autumnal cuttings being best for use : But, generally, 

22. You may cut Withies, Sallows, and Willows at any mild and gentle 
season, between leaf and leaf, even in winter ; but the most congruous 
time both to plant and to cut them is, Crescente lund Vere, circa Calendar 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



257 



Martias ; that is about the new moon, and first open weather of the CHAP. XX. 



early spring. 

23. It is in France, upon the Loire, where these Eyghts, as we term 
them, and plantations of Oziers and Withies, are perfectly understood ; 
aftd both there, and in divers other countries beyond seas, they raise 
them of seed contained in their juli, or catkins, which they sow in 
furrows, or shallow trenches, and it springs up like corn in the blade, 
and comes to be so tender and delicate, that they frequently mow them 
with a scythe. This we have attempted in England too, even in the 
place where I live ; but the obstinate and unmerciful weeds did so 
confound them, that it was impossible to keep them clean with any 
ordinary industry, and so they were given over : It seems, either weeds 
gi'ow not so fast in other countries, or that the people, which I rather 
think, are more patient and laborious. 

Note, — That these juli are not all of them seed-bearers, some are 
sterile, and wh atever you raise of them will never come to bear ; and 
therefore by some they are called the male sort, as JMr. Ray, that learned 
botanist, has observed. The Ozier is of that emolument, that in some 
places I have heard that twenty pounds has been given for one acre ; ten 
is in this part an usual price ; and doubtless it is far preferable to the 
best corn-land, not only for that it needs but once planting, but because 
it yields a constant crop and revenue to the world's end ; and is there- 
fore in esteem of knowing persons, valued in purchase accordingly ; 
considered likewise how easily it is renewed, when a plant now and 
then fails, by but pricking in a twig of the next at hand, when you visit 
to cut them. We have in the parish near Greenwich, where I lately 
dwelt, improved land from less than one pound to near ten pounds the 
acre : And when we shall reflect upon the infinite quantities of them we 
yearly bring out of France and Flanders, to supply the extraordinary 
expense of basket-work, &c. for the fruiterers, lime-burners, gardeners, 
coopers, packers-up of all sorts of ware, and for general carriage, which 
seldom last above a journey or two, I greatly admire gentlemen do not 
more think of employing their moist grounds (especially where tides near 
fresh rivers are reciprocal) in planting and propagating Oziers. To 
omit nothing of the culture of this useful Ozier, Pliny would have 
the place to be prepared by trenching it a foot and a half deep, 

V oiume I. ll 



258 A DISCOimSE 

BOOK I. and in that to fix the sets, or cuttings, of the same length at six feet 
'^'"^'''^^ interval. These, if the sets be large, will come immediately to be trees ; 

which after the first three years are to be abated within two feet of the 
ground; then in April he advises to dig about them. Some raise 
them abundantly by laying poles of them in a boggy earth only: 
Of these they formerly made vine-props, Juga, as Pliny calls them, 
for arch-wise bending, and yoaking, as it were, the branches to one 
another ? and one acre hath been kown to yields props sufficient to serve 
a vineyard of twenty-five acres. 

24. John Tradescant brought a small Ozier from St. Omer's, in 
Flanders, which makes incomparable net-works, not much inferior 
to the Indian twig, or bent-works, which we have seen ; but if we had 
them in greater abundance, we should haply want the artificers who 
could employ them, and the dexterity to varnish so neatly. 

WILLOW. 25. Our common salix, or willow, is of two kinds, the White and 
the Black: The White is also of two sorts, the one of a yellowish, the other 
of a browner bark : The Black Willow is planted of stakes of three 
years' growth, taken from the head of an old tree, before it begins 
to sprout ; set them of six feet high, and ten distant, as directed for the 
Poplar. Those woody sorts of Willow delight in meads and ditch-sides, 
rather dry than over wet, (for they love not to wet their feet, and last the 
longer,) yet the black sort, and the reddish, do sometimes weU in more 
boggy grounds, and should be planted of stakes as big as one's leg, cut 
as the other, at the length of five or six feet ; the hole made with 
an oaken stake and beetle, or with an iron crow, (some use a long 
auger,) so as not to be forced in with too great violence. But first, the 
truncheons should be a little sloped at both extremes, and the biggest 
planted downwards : To this, if they are soaked in water two or three 
days, (after they have been sized for length, and the twigs cut off before 
you plant them,) it will be the better. Let this be done in February, 
the mould as well closed to them as possible, and treated as was taught 
in the Poplar. If you plant for a kind of wood, or copse, for such I have 
seen, set them at six feet distance, or nearer in the quincunx, and 
be careful to take away all suckers from them at three years' end ; you 
may abate the head half a foot from the trunk ; viz. three or four of the 
lustiest shoots, and the rest cut close, and bare them yearly, that the 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



259 



three, four, or more you left may enjoy all the sap, and so those which chap. XX, 

were spared will be gallant pearchers within two years. Arms of four '"^'V'^i^ 

years' growth will yield substantial sets, to be planted at eight or ten feet 

distance ; and for the first three years well defended from the cattle, 

who infinitely delight in their leaves, green or withered. Thus, a Willow 

may continue twenty, or five-and-twenty years, with good profit to the 

industrious planter, being headed every four or five years ; some have 

been known to shoot no less than twelve feet in one year, after which 

the old rotten dotards may be felled, and easily supplied : But if you 

have ground fit for whole copses of this wood, cast it into double dikes ; 

making every foss near three feet wide, and two and a half in depth ; 

then leaving four feet at least of ground for the earth, (because in such 

plantations the moisture should be below the roots, that they may rather 

see than feel the water,) and two tables of sets on each side, plant the 

ridges of these banks with but one single table, longer and bigger than 

the collateral, viz. three, four, five, or six feet high, and distant from 

each other about two yards. These banks being carefully kept weeded 

for the first two years, till the plants have vanquished the grass, and 

not cut till the third, you may lop them transverse, and not obliquely, 

at one foot from the ground, or somewhat more, and they will head 

to admiration ; but such as are cut at three feet height are most 

durable, at least soft and aquatic : They may also be graffed betwixt 

the bark, or budded ; and then they become so beautiful as to be fit for 

some kind of delightful walks ; and this I wish were practised among 

such as are seated in low and marshy places, not so friendly to other 

trees. Every acre, at eleven or twelve years' growth, may yield you near 

an hundred load of wood : Cut them in the spring for dressing, but 

in the fall, for timber and fuel. 1 have been informed that a gentleman 

in Essex has lopped no less than two thousand yearly, all of his own 

planting. It is far the sweetest of all our English fuel. Ash not 

excepted, provided it be sound and dry ;^ and, emitting little smoke, 

is the fittest for ladies' chambers; and all those woods and twigs 

should be cut either to plant, work with, or burn, in the driest time 

of the day. 

To confirm what we have advanced in relation to the profit which may 
be made by this husbandry, sqe what comes to me from a worthy person 

R r 2 



260 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. whom we shall have occasion to mention, with great respect, in the 
-^"^^"^ chapter of Quicksets. 

The considerable improvement which may be made in common fields 
as well as inclosed grounds, he demonstrates by a little spot of meadow 
of about a rod and half; part of which being planted, about fifty years 
since, with Willows, (in a clump not exceeding four poles in length, 
on one side about twelve,) several of them at the first and second lojjping, 
being left with a straight top, run up, like Elms, to thirty or forty feet 
in height ; which some years since yielded boards of fourteen or fifteen 
inches broad, as good for flooring and other purjDoses within doors, 
as deals, last as long, work finer, white and beautiful : [t is indeed 
a good while since they were planted, but it seems the crop answered 
his patience, when he cut up as many of them (the year 1700) as were 
well worth ten pounds ; and since that another tree, for which, with 
those that were left, a joiner offered him as much, which was more 
by half than the whole ground itself was worth ; so as having made 
twenty pounds of the spot, he still possesses it without much damage 
to the grass. The method of planting was first by making holes with 
an iron crow, and widening them with a stake of wood, fit to receive 
a lusty plant, and sometimes boring the ground with an auger ; but 
neither of these succeeding, (by reason the earth could not be rammed 
so close to the sides and bottom of the sets as was requisite to keep 
them steady, and seclude the air, which would corrupt and kill the 
roots,) he caused holes, or little pits, of a foot square and depth 
to be dug, and then making a hole with the crow in the bottom of the 
pits to receive the set, and breaking the turf which came out of it, 
rammed it in with the mould close to the sets, (as they would do to fix 
a gate-post,) with great care not to gall the bark of it. He had divers 
times before this miscarried, when he used formerly to set them in plain 
ground, without breaking the surface, and laying it close to the sets ; 
and therefore, if the soil be moist, he digs a trench by the side of the 
row, and applies the mould which comes out of it about the sets; 
so that the edge of the bank, raised by it, may be somewhat higher than 
the earth next the set, for the better descent of the rain, and advantage 
of watering the sets in dry weather ; preventing likewise their rooting 
in the bank, which they would do if the ground next the plant or set 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



261 



were made high, and sloped ; and being left unfenced, cattle would cHAP. xx. 
tread down the bank, and lay the roots bare ; the ground should therefore "^^"y^^ 
not be raised above two or three inches towards the body of the set. — 
Now if the ground be dry, and want moisture, he chooses to bank them 
round, the fosses environing the mound and hillock, being reserves 
for the rain, cools and refreshes the sets. 

He farther instances, that Willows of about twenty years' growth have 
been sold for thirty shillings, and speaks of one sold for three pounds, 
which was well worth five pounds. He affirms, that the Willows planted 
in beds between double ditches^ in boggy ground, may be fit to be cut 
every five years, and pay as well as the best meadow-pasture ; which 
is an extraordinary improvement, 

26. There is a sort of Willow of a slender and long leaf, resembling 
the smaller Ozier, but rising to a tree as big as the Sallow, full of knots, 
and of a very brittle spray, only here rehearsed to acknowledge the 
variety. 

27. There is likewise the Garden- Willow, which produces a sweet and 
beautiful flower, fit to be admitted into our hortulan ornaments, and 
may be set for partitions of squares ; but they have no affinity with the 
others. There is also in Shropshire another very odoriferous kind, 
extremely fit to be planted by pleasant rivulets, both for ornament and 
profit : It is propagated by cuttings or layers, and will grow in any dry 
bottom, so it be sheltered from the south, affording a wonderful andt 
early relief to the industrious bee. Vitruvius commends the Vite?^ 
of the Latines (impertinently called Agnus Castus, the one being but the 
interpretation of the other) as fit for building ; I suppose they had a sort 
of better stature than the shrub growing among the curious with us, and 
w^hich is celebrated for its cbaste effects, and for which the ancients 
employed it in the rites of Ceres : I rather think it more convenient for 
the sculptor, which he likewise mentions, provided we may, with safety, 
restore the text, as Perrault has attempted, by substituting Levitatem for 
the author's Rigiditatem ; stubborn materials being not so fit for that 
curious art. 



262 



A DISCOURSE 



28. Wherein most of the former enumerated kinds differ from the 
Sallows, is indeed not very considerable, they being generally useful for 
the same purpose ; as for boxes, such as apothecaries and goldsmiths 
use ; for cai't saddle-trees, yea, gun-stocks and half-pikes ; harrows, 
shoemakers' lasts, heels, clogs for pattens ; forks, rakes, especially the 
leeth, which should be wedged with Oak ; but let them not be cut for 
this when the sap is stirring, because they will shrink ; for pearchers, 
rafters for hovels, portable and light ladders, hop-poles, ricing of kidney- 
beans, and supporters to vines, when our English vineyards come more 
in request : Also for hurdles, sieves, lattices ; for the turner, kyele-pins, 
great town tops ; for platters, little casks, and vessels, especially to pre- 
serve verjuices in, the best of any. Pales are made of cleft Willow ; 
also dorsers, fl'uit-baskets, cans, hives for bees, trenchers, trays, &c. and 
for polishing and whetting table-knives, the butler will find it above any 
Avood or whetstone ; it makes coals, bavin, and excellent firing, not 
forgetting the fresh boughs, which, of all the trees in nature, yield the 
chastest and coolest shade in the hottest season of the day ; and this 
umbrage so wholesome, that physicians prescribe it to feverish persons, 
permitting them to be placed even about their beds, as a safe and com- 
fortable refrigerium. The wood being preserved dry, will dure a very 
long time " ; but that which is found wholly putrefied, and reduced 
to a loamy earth in the hollow trunks of superannuated trees, is, of all 
other, the fittest to be mingled with fine mould, for the raising our 
choicest flowers, such as Anemonies, Ranunculuses, Auriculas, and the 
like. 

Quid majora sequar ? Salices, humilesque genistse, 
Aut illae pecori frondem, aut pastoribus umbram 

SufRciunt, sepemque satis, et pabula raelli. georg. ii. 

What would be more ? Low Broom, and Sail ows wild, 
Or feed the flock, or shepherds shade, Or field 
Hedge about, or do us honey yield. 



k Willows, and all the soft woods, when used for poles or other purposes, should be 
stripped of their bark, and steeped in water for some months, which will prevent the worm, 
and render the wood much more durable. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



263 



29. Now by all these plantations of the aquatic trees, it is evident the CHAP, 
lords of moorish commons and unprofitable wastes may learn some '''^^ 
improvement, and the neighbour bees be gratified, and many tools 
of husbandry become much cheaper. I conclude with Pliny's note upon 
these kind of trees^ after he has enumerated the universal benefit of the 
Salictum : Nullius enim tutio?' est reditus, minorisve i?npendii, aut tem^ 
pestatum securior. 



264 



A DISCOURSE 



CHAP. XXI. 

The YEW, HOLLY, CORNUS, and BOX. 

BOOK L J- AXUS, the YEW Since the use of bows is laid aside amongst uSj 
"•"'^y^^ tlie propagation of this tree is quite forborne. But the neglect of it is to 

be deplored ; seeing that the barrenest grounds, and coldest of our 

mountains 

■ - ' ■ Aquilonera et frigora taxi. 

might be profitably replenished with it : I say, profitably ; for, besides 
the use of the wood for bows^ 

I Ityrasos taxi torqu^ntur in arcusi 

the artists in Box, inlayers, and cabinet-makers (particularly for marquetry 
floors) most gladly employ it ; and in Germany they wainscot their stoves 



^ We have but one species of this tree in Europe, viz. 

TAXUS (baccata) foliis approximatis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 1472. Yerti-iree with leaves 
growing near each other. The common YEW-TREEi 

It is of the class and order Dioecia Monad elphiui 

This tree grows naturally in England, and also in most of the northern counties of 
Europe> and in North-America. If suffered to grow, it will rise to a good height, with 
a very large stem. It naturally sends out branches on every side, which spread out, and 
are almost horizontal ; these are closely garnished with narrow, stiff, blunt-pointed leaves, 
of a very dark green. The flowers come out from the sides of the branches in clusters ; 
the male-flowers having many stamina, are more conspicuous than the female ; these for 
the most part are upon different trees, but sometimes are upon the same tree ; they appear 
the latter end of May, and the berries ripen in autumn. 

The Yew-tree has been generally cultivated for the pleasure-garden, to be clipped 
into t?ie shape of beasts, birds, &c. or for hedges. Whoever is pleased with such figures, 
can raise no tree more proper for the purpose, as the branches and the leaves may 
be clipped and fashioned into almost any form or shape. But as this method is justly 
exploded, and as every one who has the least pfetension to taste, must always prefer a tree 
in its natui-al growth to those monstrous figures^ the Yew is now chiefly planted for wilder-* 



OP FOREST-TREES. 265 

with boards of this material ; For the cogs of mills, posts to be set CH. XXI. 
in moist grounds, and everlasting axle-trees, there is none to be compared ""-"^v^ 
with it. It is likewise used for the bodies of lutes, theorboes, bowls, 
wheels, and pins for pulleys ; yea, for tankards to drink out of. 



Notwithstanding what Pliny reports concerning its shade, the stories 
of the air about Thasius, the fate of Cativulcus, mentioned by Caesar, 
and the ill report which the fruit has vulgarly obtained in France, Spain, 
and Arcadia, I shall venture to say 

Quam multa arboribus tribuuntur crimina falso ? 
How are poer trees traduc'd ? 



The toxic quality was certainly in the liquor, which the good fellows . ^^^^ 
tippled out of the bottles * made of this tree, and not in the nature of the 

xrr vinis in Gallia 

wood: which yet Plinv affirms is cured of that venenous quality, fa"^, monife- 

• T 1 , ra fuisse com- 

bv driving: a brazen wedffe into the body of it. This I have never tried, pertum est — 

TLIN. lib. xvi. 

but that of the shade and fruit I have frequently, without any deadly 



•ness quarters, and for hedges, for which service it is excellently well adapted> as no tree 
bears clipping so well. 

These trees may be easily propagated by sowing their berries in autumn, as soon as 
they are ripe, or in the spring, upon a shady bed of fresh undunged soil, covering them over 
about half an inch thick with the same earth. The bed must be carefully cleared from 
weeds, and if the season prove dry, it will be proper to refresh it with water now and then, 
which will promote the growth of the seeds, some of which will come up in the spring, but 
the greatest part wiU remain in the ground until autumn or the spring following. 

The plants, when they come up, should be constantly cleared from weeds, which, if 
permitted to grow amongst them, will cause their bottoms to be naked, and frequently de- 
stroy the plants when they continue long undisturbed. 

In this bed the plants may remain two years ; after which, in autunn, there should be 
a spot of fresh, undunged soil prepared, into which they should be removed the beginning 
of October, planting them in beds about four or five feet wide, in rows about a foot 
asunder, and the same distance from each other in the rows, observing to lay a little 
mulch upon the surface of the ground about the roots, as also to water them in dry weather 
until they have taken root, after which they wiU require no farther care, but to keep 
them clear from weeds in summer, and to trim them according to the purposes for which 
they are intended. 

Volume I. S S 



266 A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. or noxious effects : So that I am of opinion, that the tree which Sextius 
•^^y^^ calls Smilax, and our historian thinks to be our Yew, was some other 
wood ; and yet I acknowledge that it is esteemed noxious to cattle when 
it is in the seeds, or newly sprouting ; though I marvel there appear 
no more such effects of it, both horses and other cattle being free to 
browse on it, where it naturally grows : But what is very odd, if true, is 
that which the late Mr. Aubrey recounts (in his Miscellanies) of 
a gentlewoman that had long been ill, without any benefit from the 
physician. She dreamed that a friend of hers, deceased, told her 
mother, that if she gave her daughter a drink of Yew pounded, she 
should recover ; it was accordingly given her, and she presently died. — 
The mother being almost distracted for the loss of her daughter, her 
chambermaid, to comfort her, said. Surely, what she gave her was not 
the occasion of her death, and that she would adventure on it herself ; 



In these beds they may remain two or three years,^ according as they have grown, 
when they should again be removed into the nursery, placing them in rows at three feet 
distance, and the plants eighteen inches asunder in the rows j observing to do it in autumn, 
as was before directed, and continue to trim them in the summer season, according to the 
design for which they are intended; and after they have continued three or four years in 
this nursery, they may be transplanted where they are to remain ; always observing 
to remove them in autumn when intended for dry ground, but for cold, moist land the spring 
is the better season. 

These trees, though of slow growth, do sometimes arrive at a considerable size. Mr. 
Pennant mentions one in Fontingal church-yard, in the Highlands of Scotland, whose ruins 
measured fifty-six feet and a half in circumference. 

Of the Yew there is a variety with short leaves, which appears very ornamental 
in plantations. There is also another with striped leaves, of great value amongst the 
vai'iegated tribes. These are increased by layers, but the striped sort must be planted 
upon a barren soil, otherwise it will become plain. 

In the days of archery, so great was the demand for the wood of the Yew-tree, that the 
merchants were obliged by statute to import four staves of it for every ton of goods coming 
from places where bow-staves had formerly been brought. In those ancient days the 
Yew was planted' in church-yards, where it stood a substitute for the Invisa Cupressus. It 
also was placed near houses, where it might be ready for the stm'dy bov/s of our warlike 
ancestors, 

' who drew, 

" And almost joined, the horns of the tough Yew." 

Mr. Pennant informs us that this tree is to be found in its native state upon the hills that 
bound the waters of the Winander, and on the face of many precipices of different places 



OF FOREST-TREES. 267 

she did so, and died also" ! Whether all this be but a dream, I cannot CH.XXr. 
tell, but it was haply from those iugubrous effects that garlands of Taxus 
were usually worn at funerals, as Statius implies in Epicedium Vernse : 
However, to prevent all funest accidents, I commend the tree only for 
the usefulness of the timber, and hortulan ornament. That we find 
it so universally planted in our church-yards, was, doubtless, from its 
being thought a symbol of immortality, the tree being so lasting, and 
always green. Our bee-masters banish it from about their apiaries. 

One thing more, whilst I am speaking of this tree : It reminds me of that 
very odd story I find related by Mr. Camden, of a certain amorous clergy- 
man, that falling in love with a pretty maid who refused his addresses, 
cut off her head ; which being hung upon a Yew-tree till it was rotten, 
the tree was reputed so sacred, not only whilst the virgin's head hung 



in this kingdom. There are six remarkable trees of this sort now growing on the hill 

above Fountain's Abbey, near Ripon, which, in 1770, measured in circumference as 
below : 

Feet. Inch. Feet. Inch, 



1 13 0 

2 18 0 

3 19 0 



4 21 0 

5 25 0 

6 26 6 



Under these very trees a number of monks resided, until they built the Monastery of 
Fountains in 1133, having withdrawn themselves from the Benedictine Monastery of 
St. Mary in York. 

The best reason that can be given why the Yew was planted in church-yards, is, that 
branches of it were often carried in procession, on Palm Sunday, instead of the Palm. The 
following extract from Caxton's DirectioH for keeping feasts all the year, is decisive on this 
custom. In the lecture for Palm Sunday, he says, " Wherefore Holy Chirch this day 
makyth solemn processyon, in mind of the processyon that Cryst made this day. But for 
encheson that we have none Olyve that bereth grene leef, algate therefore we take Ewe 
instefe of Palm and Olyve, and beren about in processyon, and so is thys day called Palm 
Sonday." As a confii'mation of this fact, the Yew-trees in fhe church-yards of East Kent are 
at this day called Palms. 

My most excellent and learned friend Dr. Percival of Manchester, in his " Medical 
and Philosophical Essays," has recorded a melancholy proof of the poisonous quality of Yew 
leaves. " On Friday, March 25, 1774, three children of James Buckley, a labouring man 
at Longsight, near Manchester, were killed by taking a small quantity of the fresh leaves 
of the Yew-tree, or Taxus Officinalis of Caspar Bauhine. The oldest child was five, the 
second four, and the youngest three yea^s of age : They were all supposed to be infected 
with the worms, and this poison was given them by the recommendation of some ignorant 

S S 2 



I 



268 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. on it, but as long as the tree itself lasted ; to which the people went 
'^'^^'^^r^^ pilgrimage, plucking and bearing away branches of it, as an holy 
reUc, whilst there remained any of the trunk ; persuading themselves, 
that those small fine veins and filaments (resembling hairs between the bark 
and the body of the tree) were the hairs of the virgin : But what is yet 
stranger, the resort to this place, (then called Houton, a despicable 
village,) occasioned the building of the now famous town of Halifax, 
in Yorkshire, which imports Holy Hair. By this, and the like, may we 
estimate what a world of impostures have, through craft and superstition, 
gained the repute of holy places, abounding with rich oblations (their 
devotas). Pliny speaks of an old Lotus tree in a grove near Kome, 
upon which the vestals (as our nuns) were used to hang their hair cut 
off at their profession. Lib. xvi. cap, xlvi^ 

I may not in the mean time omit what has been said of the true Taxus 
of the ancients, for being a mortiferous plant. Dr. Belluccio, President 
of the Medical Garden at Pisa in Tuscany, (where they have this curiosity,) 
affirms, that when his gardeners clip it, as sometimes they do, they are 
not able to work above half an hour at a time, it makes their heads 
so ache. The leaves of this tree are more like the Fir ; it is very bushy, 
and furnished with leaves from the very root, seeming rather an hedge 
than a tree, though it grows very tall. 



person, as a powerful remedy for that disorder. The dried leaves were first employed ; and 
a spoonful of them, mixed with brown sugar, was divided into three equal doses, which 
the children took at seven o'clock in the evening. At eight they had each a mess of 
pottage, prepared of butter-milk, which, having been kept several days, was become very 
sour. No complaints-were made by the children ; nor did any bad e{Fects ensue. Two 
days afterwards the mother collected ^re*/i leaves, and administered them in the same dose, 
as before, and at the same hour. At eight o'clock the children breakfasted on nettle- 
pottage, that is, oatmeal gruel with fresh nettles boiled in it, a mess well known in this 
country. At nine, they began to be uneasy ; were chilly and listless ; yawned much ; and 
frequently stretched out their limbs. The eldest vomited a little, and complained of 
gripings in his belly ; but the others expressed no signs of pains. The second child died 
at ten o'clock; the youngest about one; and the oldest at three in the afternoon. No 
agonies accompanied their dissolution ; no swelling of the abdomen ensued ; and after 
death they had the appearance of being in a placid sleep. These particulars I learned 
from the unfortunate parents of the children, whose ignorance led thera too long, and too 
fatally, to rely on the trifling and inefficacious means of relief, suggested to them by their 
neighbours." Vol. iii. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



269 



This English Yew-tree is easily produced of the seeds, washed and cH. XXI. 
cleansed from their mucilage, then buried and dried in sand a little moist, 
any time in December, and so kept in some vessel in the house all winter, 
and in some cool shady place abroad all the summer ; sow them the 
spring after. Some bury them in the ground like Haws ; it will com- 
monly be the second winter before they peep, and then they rise with . 
their caps on their heads. Being three years old, you may transplant 
them, and form them into standards, knobs, walks, hedges, &c. in 
all which works they succeed marvellous well, and are worth our 
patience for their perennial verdure and durableness. I do again name 
them for hedges, preferable, for beauty and a stiff defence, to any plant 
I have ever seen, and may, upon that account, without vanity, be said 
to have been the first who brought it into fashion, as well for defence, 
as for a succedaneum to Cypress, whether in hedges or pyramids, conic 
spires, bowls, or what other shapes, adorning the parks or larger avenues 
with their lofty tops, thirty feet high, and braving all the efforts of the 
most rigid winter, which Cypress cannot weather. I have said how long 
lasting they are, and easily to be shaped and clipped ; nay, when cut 
down, they thrive : But those which are most superannuated, and per- 
haps of many hundred years standing, perish if so used. 



H OLLY^. 

Above all the natural greens which enrich our home-born store, there 
is none certainly to be compared to the Agrifolium (or Acuifolium rather) 



" Of the Ilex there are five species, but I shall only take notice of two : 

1. ILEX CaquifoliumJ foliis ovatis acutis spinosis. Lin. Sp. PI. 181. Jlex aculeata 
baccifera. C. B. P. 42$. Pricklij berry-bearing Ilex. The common holly. 

The common HOLLY grows naturally in woods and forests in many parts of England, where 
it rises from twenty to thirty feet high, and sometimes more, but the ordinary height is not 
above twenty-five feet. The stem by age becomes large, and is covered with a greyish 
smooth bark ; and those trees, which are not lopped or browsed by cattle, are commonly 
furnished with branches the greatest part of their length, so form a sort of cone; the 
branches are garnished with oblong oval leaves about three inches long, and one and a' half 
broad, of a lucid green on their upper surface, but pale on their under, having a strong 
midrib : the edges are indented and waved, with sharp thorns terminating each of the 
points, so that some of the thorns are raised upward and others are bent downward ; these 
being very stiff cannot be handled without pain. The leaves are placed alternate on every 



270 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. our Holly, spontaneously growing here in this part of Surrey, that the 
"^^'^^ large vale near my own dwelling was anciently called Holmes-Dale, 
famous for the flight of the Danes : The inhabitants (of great anti- 
quity in their manners, habits, and speech) have a proverb. Holmes- 



side of the branches, and from the base of their foot-stalks the flowers come out in 
clusters, standing on very short foot-stalks; each of these sustains five, six, or more 
flowers. These flowers are of a dirty white, and appear in May ; they are succeeded 
by roundish berries, which turn to a beautiful red about Michaelmas, and continue on the 
trees till after Christmas. Of the common holly there are several varieties with variegated 
leaves, which are propagated by the nursery-gardeners for sale, but at present are little 
regarded, the old taste of filling gardens with shorn evergreens being entirely abolished ; 
however, in the disposition of the clumps or other plantations of evergreen trees and shrubs, 
a few of the most lively colours may be admitted, which will have a good effect in the winter 
season, if they are properly disposed. As the different variegations of the leaves of Hollies, 
are by the nursery-gardeners distinguished by different titles, I shall here mention the most 
beautiful of them by their common names. 
Fair Phillis. Chohole. Milkmaid. Chimney-sweeper. Glory of the East. Glory of the 
West. Painted Lady. Fuller's Cream Holly. Broderick's Holly. Cheney's Holly, Par- 
tridge's Holly. Wise's Holly. Ellis's Holly. Gray's Holly. Longstaff's Holly. Brad- 
ley's Best Holly. Blotched Yellow-berried Holly. Mason's Copper-coloured Holly.— 
Bench's Ninepenny Holly. Pritchet's Holly. Blind's Cream Holly. Sir Thomas Frank- 
land's Holly. Britain's Holly. Bradley's long-leaved Holly. Whitmell's Holly. Brad- 
ley's Yellow Holly. Bridgman's Holly. Wells's Holly. Glass's Holly. Bagshot's Holly. 
Brownrig's Holly. Hertfordshire White Holly. Common Blotched Holly. Yellow 
Blotched Hedge-Hog Holly. Silver Hedge-Hog Holly. Langton Holly. 

2. ILEX fcAROLiNiANAj foliis ovato-lanceolatis serratis. Lift. Sp. PI. 181. Holly with 
oval, spear-shaped, sawed leaves. Aquifolium Caroliniense, foliis dentatis, baccis rubris.— 
Catesb. Carol. I. p. 31. Carolina Holly with indented leaves and red berries. Commonly 
called Dahoon Holly. 

This species of Holly grows naturally in Carolina, from whence the seeds were sent by the late 
Mr. Mark Catesby, who found the trees growing on a swamp at a distance from Charles- 
town, but it hath since been discovered in some other parts in North-America. This rises 
with an upright branching stem to the height of eighteen or twenty feet ; the bark of the 
old stem is of a brown colour, but that of the branches, or younger stalks, is green and 
smooth, garnished with spear-shaped leaves, which are more than four inches long, and 
one and a quarter broad in the broadest part, of a light green and thick consistence ; the 
upper part of the leaves are sawed on their edges, each serrature ending in a small sharp 
spine ; they stand alternately on every side of the branches, upon very short foot-stalks. The 
flowers come out in thick clusters from the side of the stalks ; they are white, and shaped 
like those of the common Holly, but are smaller ; the female and hermaphrodite flowers are 
succeeded by small roundish berries in its native country, which makes a fine appearance 
in winter, but they have not as yet produced fruit in England. This plant is tender, and 
requires a warm exposure. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 271 

Dcde never won ; ne, never shall. It had once a fort called Holmes-Dale cH. xxr. 
Castle : I know not whether it might not be that of Rygate ; but leaving ^'^'V"^ 
this uncertain, I return to the plant. I have often wondered at our 
curiosity after foreign plants, and expensive difficulties to the neglect 



The Ilex is of the class and order Tetrandria Tetragynia. 

The manner of propagathig the Holly is nearly the same as the Yew ; only as the plants 
never appear until the second springs instead of sowing the berries immediately, as was 
directed for the Yew, they may be buried in the ground, then taken up, and sown the 
autumn following. If the berries are sown as soon as they are gathered, they will un- 
doubtedly come up the spring twelvemonth after ; and this would be the most eligible, as 
well as the surest way of obtaining a crop, could we be certain of guarding them from mice 
during so long a space of time ; for these animals, when once they find out the seeds, 
will effectually destroy a whole seminary. If the planter is not averse to run this hazard, 
the best method will be to sow the seeds soon after they are ripe. During the following 
summer, the beds must be kept clean of weeds, and, if the season should prove dry, 
it would assist the growth of the seeds to give them now and then a gentle watering. 
These precautions being observed, the plants will come up in the second spring. 

In the seed-bed the plants should remain two years, after which they should, be trans- 
planted in the autumn into beds properly prepared, at the distance of eight inches each 
way. Here they may stand two years longer, during which time they must be constantly 
kept clean from weeds ; and if the plants have thriven well, they will be strong enough 
to transplant where they are designed to remain ; for when they are transplanted at that 
age, there will be less danger of their falling, and they will gi-ow to a larger size than those 
which are removed when they are much larger ; but if the ground is not ready to receive 
them at that time, they should be transplanted into the nursery, in rows at two feet 
distance, and one foot asunder in the rows, in which place the plants may remain two 
yeai's longer ; and if they are designed to be grafted or budded with any of the variegated 
kinds, the operation should be performed, after the plants are grown one year in the 
nursery ; but the plants so budded or grafted should continue two years after in the 
nursery, that they may make good shoots before they are removed ; though the plain ones 
should not stand longer than two years in the nursery, because when they are older they 
do not transplant so well. The best time for removing Hollies is early in the autumn, 
especially in dry land ; but where the soil is cold or moist, they may be transplanted with, 
great safety in the spring. 

The Holly is an excellent plant for hedges, and would claim the preference to the 
Hawthorn, were it not for the slowness of its growth while young, and the difficulty 
of transplanting it, when grown to a moderate size. It will grow best in cold, stony land, 
where, if on ce it takes well, the hedges may be rendered so close and thick as to keep out 
all sorts of animals. These hedges may be raised by sowing the berries in the place 
where they are designed to remain, or by plants of three or four years' growth ; but as the 
berries continue in the ground near eighteen months before the plants appear, few persons. 



272 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. of the culture of this vulgar, but incomparable tree, whether we pro- 
"""'y^ pagate it for use and defence, or for sight and ornament. 

' — <— Mala furta hominum densis mucronibus arcens 
Securum defendit inexpugnabilis hortum, 
Exornatque simul, toto spectabilis anno, 

Et numero et viridi foliorum luce nitentum. couleii pl. lib. vi. 

A hedge of Holly, thieves that would invade> 
Repulses like a growing palisade ; 
Whose numerous leaves such orient greens invest. 
As in deep winter do the spring arrest. 

Which makes me wonder why it should be reckoned among the unfortu* 
nate trees by Macrobius, Sat. lib. ii. cap. xvi. and by others among the 
lucky ; for so it seems they used to send branches of it, as well as of 
Oak, (the most fortunate, according to the Gentile theology,) with their 
Strense, (New- Year's Gifts,) 'begun, as Symachils tell us, by King Tatius, 
almost as old as Rome herself 

But to say no more of these superstitious fopperings, which iare many, 
about this tree, we still dress up both our churches and houses, on 
Christmas and other festival days, with this cheerful green, and its 
rutilant berries. 



care to wait so long ; therefore the usual and best method is to plant the hedges with 
plants of the before-mentioned age. But where this is practised, they should be trans- 
planted either early in the auturrin, or deferred till toward the end of March ; then the 
surface of the ground should be covered with mulch near their roots after they are planted, 
to keep the earth moist ; and if the season should prove dry, the plants should be watered 
at least once a- week, until they have taken root, otherwise they will be in danger of mis* 
carrying ; for which reason the autumnal planting is generally preferred to the spring, 
especially in dry gi*ounds. Columella's description of a good hedge is highly applicable to 
one made of Holly. " Neu sit pecori, neu per via furi." Of the vind of this tree bird-lime 
is made : 



" Alas ! in vain with warmth and food 
" You cheer the songsters of the wood ; 
" The barbarous boy from you prepares 
*' On treacherous twigs his viscous snares : 
Yes, the poor bird you nurs'd shall find 
" Destruction in your rifled rind.*' 



OF FOREST-TREES. 273 

Is there under heaven a more glorious and refreshing object of the cH. XXL 
kind, than an impregnable hedge of about four hundred feet in length, '"^^V^-' 
nine feet high, and five in diameter, which I can show in my now ruined 
gardens at Say's Court, (thanks to the Czar of Muscovy %) at any time 
of the year, glittering with its armed and varnished leaves ? The taller 
standards at orderly distances, blushing with their natural coral : It 
mocks the rudest assaults of the weather, beasts, or hedge-breakers, 

Et ilium nemo irapune lacessit. 

It is with us of two eminent kinds, the prickly and smoother-leaved ; or, 
as some term it, the Free Holly, not unwelcome, when tender, to sheep 
and other cattle. There is also of the White-berried, and a Golden and 
Silver, variegated in six or seven differences, which proceeds from no 
difference in the species, but accidentally, and naturee lusu, as most 
such variegations do : since we are taught how to effect it artificially, 
namely, by sowing the seeds, and planting in gravelly soil mixed with 
store of chalk, and pressing it hard down ; it being certain that they 
return to their native colour when sown in richer mould, and that all the 
fibres of the roots recover their natural food. 

I have already shown how it is to be raised of the berries, (of which 
there is a sort bears them yellow, and propagates their colour,) when they 
are ready to drop : this only omitted, that they should first be freed from 
their tenacious and glutinous mucilage, by being washed, and a little 
bruised, then dried with a cloth, or else bury them as you do the Yew 
and Hips : and let the forester receive this for no common secret, and 
take notice of the effect. If you will sow them in the berry, keep them 
in dry sand till March, remove them also after three or four years ; but 
if you plant the sets, (which is likewise a commendable way, and the 
woods will furnish enough,) place them northwards, as they do Quick : 
With this, living pales and enclosures may be made, and when cut 
into square hedges, it becomes an impenetrable fence that will thrive 
in the hottest as well as the coldest places. The Right Honourable my 
Lord Dacres, as I am credibly informed, has a park somewhere in Sussex, 



* The czar Peter the Great resided at Mr. Evelyn's house, in order that he might be neaif 
the yard at Deptford during his stay in England. 

Volume L T t 



274 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. environed with a hedge of Holly able to keep in any game. I have seen 
'^""^y^*^ hedges, or, if you will, stout walls of Holly twenty feet in height, kept up- 
right, and the gilded sort budded low, and in two or three places one above 
another, shorn and fashioned into columns and pilasters, architectonially 
shaped, and at due distance ; than which nothing can possibly be more 
pleasant, the berry adorning the intercolumniations with scarlet festoons 
and encarpa. Of this noble tree one may take thousands of them, four 
inches long, out of the woods, (growing amongst the fallen leaves,) and 
so plant them ; but this should be before the cattle begin to crop them, 
especially sheep, who are greedy of them when tender : Stick them into 
the ground in a moist season, in spring or early in autumn, especially the 
spring, shaded (if it prove too hot and scorching) till they begin to shoot 
of themselves, and in very sharp weather, and during our Eastern 
Etesians, covered with dry straw or haume ; and if any of them seem 
to perish, cut it close, and you shall soon see it revive. Of these seed- 
lings, and by this culture, I have raised plants and hedges full four feet 
high in four years : The lustier and bigger the sets are, the better ; and 
if you can procure such as are a thumb's breadth thick, they will soon 
furnish into an hedge. At Dungeness, in Kent, they grow naturally 
amongst the pebbles upon the very beach ; but if your ground be stiff, 
loosen it v/ith a little fine gravel : This rare hedge, the boast of my villa, 
was planted upon a burning gravel, exposed to the meridian sun ; for it 
refuses not almost any sort of barren ground^ hot or cold, and often 
indicates where coals are to be dug. 

True it is, that time must bring this tree to perfection ; it does so to 
all things else, et posteritati paiigimus. But what if a little culture about 
the roots, (not dunging, which it abhors,) and frequent stirring of the 
mould, double its growth ? We stay seven years for a tolerable Quick ; 
it is worth staying thrice seven for this, which has no competitor. 

And yet there is an expedient to effect it more insensibly, by planting 
it with the Quick : Let every fifth or sixth be a Holly-set ; they will 
grow up infallibly with your Quick, and as they begin to spread, make 
way for them by extirpating the White-Thorn, till they quite domineer : 
Thus was my hedge first planted, without the least interruption to the 
fence, by a most pleasant metamorphosis. But there is also another, not 
less applauded, by laying along well-rooted sets^ a yard or more in length, 



OF FOREST-TREES. 275 

and stripping off the leaves and branches, letting only something of the 
tops appear: These, covered with a competent depth of earth, will send 
forth innumerable suckers, which will suddenly advance into an hedge 
that will grow as well under the shade as sun, provided you keep it 
weeded, and now and then loosen the earth ; towards which, if through 
extreme neglect, or other accident, it grow thin, being close cut down, it 
will fill and become stronger and thicker than ever. 

Of this stately shrub, as some reckon it, there is lately found an Holly, 
whose leaves are as thorny and bristly, not only at the edges, but all over, 
as an hedge-hog, which it may properly be called ; and I think was first 
brought by Mr. London out of France. 

The timber of the Holly (besides that it is the whitest of all hard 
woods, and therefore used by the inlay er, especially under thin plates of 
ivory, to render it more conspicuous) is for all sturdy uses ; the mill- 
wright, turner, and engraver prefer it to any other : It makes the best 
handles and stocks for tools, flails, the best riding-rods, and carters' 
whips ; bowls, chivers, and pins for blocks : Also it excels for door-bars 
and bolts ; and as of the Elm, so of this especially, they made even hinges 
and hooks to serve instead of iron, sinking in the water like it ; and of 
the bark is composed our bird-lime, thus : 

Peel a good quantity of the bark about Midsummer ; fill a vessel with 
it, and put to it spring-water ; then boil it till the grey and white bark 
rise from the green, which will require near twelve hours boiling ; then 
taking it off the fire, separate the barks, the water first well poured off. 
Then lay the green bark on the earth, in some cool vault or cellar, cover- 
ing it with any sort of green and rank weeds, such as Dock, Thistles, 
Hemlock, &c. to a good thickness ; thus let it continue near a fortnight, 
by which time it will become a perfect mucilage ; then pound it all ex- 
ceedingly in a stone mortar, till it be a tough paste, and so very fine as no 
part of the bark be discernible : This done, wash it accurately well in 
some running stream of water, as long as you perceive the least ordure or 
motes in it, and so reserve it in some earthen pot, to purge and ferment, 
scumming as often as any thing arises for four or five days, and when no 
more filth comes, change it into a fresh vessel of earth, and reserve it for 
use, thus : Take what quantity you please of it, and in an earthen pipkin 

T t 2 



CH. XXf, 



276 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. add a third part of capon or goose-grease to it, well clarified, or oil of 
■^"""^'''"^ walnuts, which is better ; after incorporating the mixture on a gentle fire, 
keep stirring it till it be cold, and thus you rcom position is finished. But to 
prevent frosts, (which, in severe weather, will sometimes invade it on the 
rods,) take a quarter of as much oil of Petroleum as you do of grease, and 
no cold whatever will congeal it. The Italians make their Vischio of the 
berries of the mistletoe of trees, (and indeed it is from this it is said of the 
thrush, Exitium suum cacat, that bird being an exceeding devourer of 
them,) treated much after the same manner ; but then they mix it with 
nut-oil, an ounce to a pound of lime, and taking it from the fire, add half 
an ounce of turpentine, which qualifies it also for the water. Great 
quantities of bird-lime are brought to us out of Turkey, and from 
Damascus, which some conceive to be made of Sebestens, finding some- 
times the kernels. This lime is of a greener colour, subject to frosts, 
and impatient of wet, nor will last above a year or two good. Another 
sort comes also out of Syria, of a yellow hue ; likewise from Spain, whiter 
than the rest, which will resist the water, but is of an ill scent. I have 
been told that the Cortex of our Lantana, or Wayfaring Shrub, will make 
as good bird-lime as the best. Eut let these suffice, being more than as 
yet any one has published. The superior leaves of Holly-trees, dried to 
a fine powder, and drank in white wine, are prevalent against the stone, 
and cure fluxes ; and a dozen of the mature berries, being swallowed, 
purge phlegm without danger : To which the learned Mr. Ray (in 
Append. Plant. Angl.) adds a zythogalum, or posset, made of milk and 
beer, in which is boiled some of the most pointed leaves, for assuaging 
the torment of the colic, when nothing else has prevailed. 

COENUSK 

The Cornel-tree, though not mentioned by Pliny for its timber, is ex- 
ceedingly commended for its durableness and use in wheel-work, pins, 

P This is the CORNUS fitf^sj arborea, umbellis involucrum aequantibus, Lin. Sp. PI. 
171. Tree Dogwood with umbels equal to the involucrum. Cornus sylvestris mas. C. B. P. 
447. Male cornel, or cornelian chersT'TREe. 

• As the fruit of this tree is not at present much esteemed, the nursery-men about London pro- 
pagate it as one of the sorts which is commonly sold as a flowering shrub, and is by some 
people valued for coming so early to flower : for if the season be mild, the flowers will appear 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



277 



and wedges, in which it lasts like the hardest iron ; it will grow with us CH, 
to good bulk and stature. The preserved and pickled berries (or cherries ^"^^ 
rather) are most refreshing, an excellent condiment, and do also well in 
tarts. But it is very odd what Mathiolus affirms upon his own expe- 
rience, that one who has been bitten of a mad dog, if in a year after he 
handle the wood of this tree till it grows warm, relapses again into his 
former distemper, 

The same is reported of the Cornus Fcemina, or Wild Cornel, which, 
like the former, is noted for compactness, and made use of for cart-timber, 
and other rustic instruments ; it also makes the best of butchers' 
skewers, and tooth-pickers. In some countries abroad they decoct the 
berries, which pressed, yield an oil for the lamp. 



by the beginning of February ; and though there is no great beauty in the flowers, yet, as 
they are generally produced in plenty, at a season when few other flowers appear upon trees, 
a few plants may b.e admitted fpr variety. TJie fryit of this trap is seldom ripe before 
September. The tree will grow to the height of eighteeii or tweiity feet, forming a lar^e 
head. 

This tree is of the class and order Tetrandria Monogynta. 

The Cornelian Cherry-tree should be raised from seeds. These should be sown 
in the autumn, soon after they are ripe, or they will not come up till the second spring ; 
and sometimes, when the intermediate summer has proved very dry, they will not appear 
till the summer after ; so that great care should be used to get the seeds into the beds as 
soon as possible ; but if the work qannpt be done before the spring, and the plants do not 
come up, the beds should be left undisturbed for the two following seasons. 

When the plants have made their appearance, they should stand in the seed-bed a year 
or two to acquire strength ; during which time they should be kept clean of weeds, and 
in dry weather watered. After this, they should be planted out in the nursery, in rows, 
where they may remain, with the usual care, till they are fit to be planted out for good ; 
the best season for which is the autumn. 

The Cornelian Cherry-tree is a native of Misnia, Austria, and soine other places, but 
grows very well with us ; and may be planted with success on moist soils. 

Homer ranks the Cornel amongst the trees that afford the coarsest food : 

Meantime the Goddess in disdain bestows 
The Mast and Acorn, brutal food ! and strows 

The fruit of Cornel, as they feast around. opyssEY. 



The wood of this tree was used by the ancients for javelins — " volat Itala Cornus." 



278 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. BUXUS. The BOX. This we begin to proscribe our gardens, (and 
-^^Y^^ indeed bees are no friends to it,) though it should not yet be banished from 
our care, because the excellency of the wood does commute for the dis- 
agreeableness of its smell : Therefore let us furnish our cold and barren 
hills and declivities with this useful shrub, I mean the taller sort ; for 
dwarf and more tonsil in due place. It will increase abundantly of slips 
set in March, and towards Bartholomew-tide, as also of the seeds con- 
tained in the cells. These trees rise naturally at Boxley in Kent, and 
in the county of Surrey, giving name to that chalky hill, (near the famous 
Mole or Swallow,) whither the ladies, gentlemen, and other water- 
drinkers from the neighbouring Ebesham Spaw, often resort during the 
heat of summer, to walk, collation, and divert themselves in the 
natural alleys and shady recesses, among the Box-trees, without taking 
any such offence at the smell which has of late banished it from our 
groves and gardens ; when, after all, it is infinitely to be preferred for 
the bordering of flower-beds and flat embroideries, to any sweeter less- 



1 Of this tree there is only one species, which in the Sp. PI. stands simply with the name 
BUXUS. There are, however, many varieties, such as, 

1 . The Broad-leaved Box. 

2. The Dwarf, commonly called the Dutch Box.' 

3. The Narrow-leaved Box, 

4. The Gold-striped Box, 

5. The Silver-striped Box. 

6. The Gold-edged Box. 

7. The Curled-leaved striped Box. 

The kind recommended for a forest-tree is the broad-leaved ; but of all the sorts, thfi 
narrow-leaved is by far the most beautiful. The striped sorts are only the common Box 
variegated. 

The Box is of the class and order Mmoecia Telrandria^ 

The Box-TKEE is propagated by layers planted any time between Michaelmas and 
March ; or by cuttings put down in autumn, and kept watered till they have struck root. 
It may also be raised from seeds sown soon after they are ripe, in a shady border, and well 
watered in dry weather. The Dwarf Box, for edgings, is propagated by dividing the plants 
into as many parts as are furnished with roots. 

This tree grows luxuriantly, and in great abundance, upon Box-hill, at Darking, in Surrey, 
which place may be said to rival Virgil's Cytorus i 

Et juvat undantem buxo spectare Cytortim. georg. ii. 



\ 



OF FOREST-TREES. 279 

lasting shrub whatever, subject, after a year or two, to grow dry, sticky, CH. XXL 
and full of gaps ; which Box is so little obnoxious to, that, braving all ^"^*v*»«^ 
seasons, it needs not to be renewed for twenty years together, nor kept 
in order with the garden-shears above once or twice a-year ; and imme- 
diately upon that, the casting water upon it, hinders all those offensive 
emissions which some complain of. But whilst I speak in favour of this 
sort of edging, I only recommend the use of the Dutch Box, (rarely 
found growing in England,) which is a pumil dwarf kind, with a smaller 
leaf, and slow of growth, and which needs not be kept above two inches 
high, and yet grows so close, that beds bordered with boards keep not 
the earth in better order ; beside, the pleasantness of the verdure is 
incomparable. 

One thing more I think fit to add ; that it may be convenient once 
in four, five, or six years, to cut off the strings and roots which straggle 
into the borders, with a very sharp spade, that they may not prejudice 
the flowers, and what else one plants in them. 

I need not speak much of the uses of this tree, (growing in time to 
considerable stature,) so continually sought after for many utensils, being 



The Box-tree makes a fine and clieerful appearance in evergreen quarters, and when 
cut down, the wood sells at a high price ; a sufficient encouragement for the planter to 
raise it for sale. The English wood, however, is inferior to that which comes from Turkey. 
The American Box is also preferable to ours. 

This beautiful evergreen was much esteemed by the ancients, for use as well as ornament^ 
They made combs of it as we do at this day : 

Multififlo Buxus quae tibi dente datur. mart. 

They also formed it into musical instruments to be played upon by the mouth : 

Si buxos inflare juvat r pLAUD. 

non illos carmina vocum, 

Longave niullifori deleclat tibia buxi. oviD, 

— Cum sacra vocant, Idsaque suadet Buxus, statius. 

Among the Romans, these trees were clipped into a variety of forms, a practice quite 
exploded by our modern improvers in gardening. Pliny, the consul, in his letter to Apol- 
linaris, on the subject of his Tuscan villa, minutely describes his garden, in which the Box 
clipped into a variety of figures, was a principal ornament. This is the only regular ac- 
count that we have of a Roman garden, which does not seem to differ materially from the 
English gardens of the last century. 



280 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. SO hard, close, and ponderous as to sink, like lead, in water ; and therefore 
'^''^^'^r^ of special use for the turner, engraver, carver, mathematical instrument- 
maker, comb, and pipe-maker, fsi huocos injlarejuvat — Claud.) who give 
great prices for it by weight, as well as measure ; and by the seasoning, 
and divers manner of cutting, vigorous insolations, politure, and grinding, 
the roots of this tree (as of even our common and neglected thorn) do 
furnish the inlayer and cabinet-maker with pieces rarely undulated, and 
full of variety : Also of Box are made wheels or shivers, as our ship- 
carpenters call them, and pins for blocks and pulleys ; pegs for musical 
instruments ; nut-crackers, weavers' shuttles, hollar- sticks, bump-sticks, 
and dressers for the shoemaker, rulers, rolling-pins, pestles, mall-balls, 
beetles, tops, tables, chess-men, screws, male and female, bobbins for 
bone-lace, spoons, nay the stoutest axle-trees ; but above all, 

■I > - ■- » non ultima belli 

Arma Puellaris ; Laqueos heec nectit Amantum, 

Et venatricis disponit retia Formje. couleii. P], lib. vi. 

. Box combs bear no small part 

In the miilitia of the female art ; • 
They tie the links which hold our gallants fast^ 
And spread the nets to which fond lovers haste. 

The chemical oil of this wood has done the feats of the best guaiacum 
(though in greater quantity) for the cure of venereal diseases, as one of 
the most expert physicians in Europe has confessed. The oil assuages 
the tooth-ache. But, says Khodoginus, the honey which is made at 
Trebisond in Box-trees (I suppose he means gathered among them ; for 
there are few, I believe, if any, so large and hollow as to lodge and hive 
bees,) renders them distracted who eat of it. Lib. xxiii. cap. xxv. 

He that in winter should behold some of our highest hills in Surrey clad 
with whole woods of these trees, for divers miles in circuit, (as in those 
delicious groves of them belonging to the Honourable, my Noble Friend* 
the late Sir Adam Brown, of Beach worth Castle,) mighty without the least 
violence to his imagination, easily fancy himself transported into some 
new or enchanted country ; for;, if in any spot of England;, 

Hie ver assiduum, atque alienis mensibus aestas. virg. 

' 'tis here 

Eternal spring and summer all the year. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



281 



CHAP. XXH. 

the FIR\ PINE, PINASTER, PITCH-TREE, 

and LARC H, 

1. Abies, PICEA, PINUS, pinaster, and larch, are all of 
them easily raised of the kernels and nuts, which may be gotten out of 
their polysperm and turbinate cones, clogs, and squams, by exposing 
them to the sun, or a little before the fire, or in warm water, till they 
begin to gape, and are ready to deliver themselves of their numerous 
burdens. 



^ Of this GENUS there are various species : 

1, PINUS (SYLVESTRis) foliis geminis; primordialibus solitariis glabris. Lin. Sp. PI. 
1418. Pine-tree with two leaves in each sheath, but the Jirst leaves smooth and single. Pinus 
Sylvestris. C. B. P. 49 1. The wild pine, or scotch fir. 

This is called the Scotch Fir, because it grows naturally on the Highlands of Scotland, where 
the seeds, falling from their cones, come up, and propagate themselves without any care. 
But it is nat in Scotland only that these trees thrive naturally; for they grow spontaneously 
in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. And though, from the above instances, it would seem 
that they delighted principally in these northern parts; yet wheji^the plants are properly 
raised and planted out, no climate comes amiss to them, for t.'?.^ ■ ^t\\ thrive and grow to be 
good timber-trees in almost any part of the temperate globe. The timber of this tree is what 
we call Deal, which is sometimes red, sometimes yellow, but chiefly white. The Pinaster 
is a variety of this species, and is titled Pinaster Latifolius, julis virescentibus sive pallescenti- 
bus. This tree tlirows out large arms, and its leaves are larger and longer, and of a paler 
green than those of the Scotch Fir. It is a native of Italj"^, though it abounds in the south 
of France ; and in Switzerland, where there are great plenty of these trees, the inhabitants 
cut them into shingles for the covering of their houses, wiiich soon become so compact anil 
close, by the sun's melting the resinous substance, as to be proof against all weather. There 
are two other varieties ; Pinus maritima altera ; and Pinaster tenuifolius, julo purpurascente. 
Bauh. Pin. The white inner rind of this tree, when dried and ground in a mill, is used by 
the inhabitants of some northern countries as a substitute for flour, which, after undergoing 
a particular operation, is converted into bread. 

2. PINUS fsTROBVSj foliis quinis margine scabris, cortice Ijevi. Lin. Sp. PI. J419. 
Pinus Canadensis quinquefblia, floribus albis, conis oblongis pendulis, squamis abieti fere 
similibus. Duham. Arb. 2. p. 127. Pinus Virginlana, conis longis non ut in vulgari 
echinatis. Pluk. Aim. 297. The Weymouth pine. 

Volume I. U u 



282 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. 2. There are of the Fir two principal species ; the Picea, or Male, 
""""^^'^"^ which is the bigger tree, very beautiful and aspiring, and of an harder 
wood, and hirsute leaf ; and the Silver Fir, or Female. I begin with the 
p I R first : The boughs whereof are flexible and bending ; the cones de- 
pendent, long, and smooth, growing from tlie top to the branch ; and 
where gaping, yet retain the seeds in their receptacles, when fresh 



This grows naturally in most parts of North America, where it is called ihe White or Masting 
Pine, and is one of the tallest trees of all the species ; often growing a hundred feet high in 
these countries. Of this tree the best masts are made, and Dr. Douglass, in his "Historical 
and Poliiical Summary of the British Settlements in North America," says, that upon the 
banks of the river Merimack, in the year 1736, there was cut a White Pine that was seven 
feet eight inches in diameter at the butt-end. The bark of this tree is very smooth and del.- 
cate, especially when young ; the leaves are long and slender, five growing out of each sheath ; 
the branches are pretty closely garnished with them, so make a fine appearance ; the cones 
are long, slender, and very loose, opening with the first warmth of tiie spring, so that if they 
are not gathered in winter, tiie scales open, and let out the seeds. As the wood of this tree 
was generally thought of great service to the navy, there was a law made in the ninth year 
of Queen Anne fof the preservation of the trees, and to encourage their growth in America ; 
it is not much above half a century since these trees began to be propagated in England in 
any plenty, though there were some large trees of this sort growing in two or three places 
long before, particularly at Lord Weymouth's, and Sir Wyndliam KnatchbuU's in Kent; and 
it has been chiefly from the seeds of the latter that the greatest number of these trees now in 
England have been raised ; for although there have annually been some of the seeds brought 
from America, yet these have been few in comparison to the produce of the trees in Kent; 
and many of the trees which have been raised from the seeds of those, now produce plenty 
of good seeds, particularly the trees in the gardens of his Grace the Duke of Argyll at 
Whitton, which annually produce large quantities of cones. This sort, and the Scotch Pine, 
are the best worth cultivating of ail the kinds for the sake of their wood ; the others may be 
planted for variety in parks, &c. where they make a good appearance in winter, when other 
trees are destitute of leaves. 

3, PINUS ("pinfaJ foliis geminis ; primordialibus solitariis ciliatis. Lin. Sp. PL 1419. 

Pine-tree with two leaves coming out of each sheath, and the Jirsi leaves single. Pinus sativa. 
C. B. P. 490. The cultivated Pine-tree, commonly called The stone pine. 

The Stone Pine is a tree of which there should be a few in all plantations of ever-greens. It will 
grow to a considerable height, and arises with a straight and fair stem, though with a rough 
bark. The leaves contribute to the diversifying of the scene, as they differ in colour from 
the other sorts, and are arranged in a different manner. The cones which it bears are large 
and turbinated ; they strike the eye by their bold appearance when hanging on the trees, and 
when closely examined, exhibit a beautiful arrangement of scales. They produce a kernel 
as sweet to the taste as an almond, with a slight flavour of the turpentine. This tree is a 
native of Italy, where the kernels are served up in deserts at the table ; they were formerly 
kept in the shops, and thougiit to be salutary in colds, coughs, and consumptions. The 
Stone Pine may be sawed into good boards, though the timber is generally allowed not to be 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



283 



gathered, giving a grateful fragrancy of the resin : The fruit is ripe in ch 
September. But after all, for a perfecter account, the true and genuine 
Fir-tree is a noble, upright tree from the ground, smooth and even to the 
eruption of the branches, which they call the sapinum, and thence tapering 
to the summit of the fusterna : The arms and branches, with Yew-like 
leaves, grow from the stem opposite to one another, seriatim to the top. 



(quite so valuable as the other sorts. The colour is not the same in all trees; some exhibiting 
their timber of a very white colour; others again are yellovi^er, and smell stronger of the 
turpentine. Martial represents it as dangerous to stand under this species of Pine, on ac- 
count of the magnitude of its cones : 

iPoma sumus Cybeles ; procul hinc discede, viator, 

Ne cadat in miserum nostra ruina caput. Lib. xiii. Ep. 25. 

4. PINUS CtmdaJ foliis trinis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1419. Pinus Virginiana tenuifolia tripilis 
s. ternis plerumque ex uno foliculo setis, strobilis majoribus. Pluk. Aim. 297- Virginian 
Pine-tree, with three narrow leaves in each sheath, and larger cones. The sivamp pine-tree. 

This is a very large growing tree, and is highly proper, as its name imports, to be planted in 
moist places. The leaves are long, and of a delightful green colour ; three issue out of each 
sheath, and adorn the younger branches in great plenty. Its propagation is the same as the 
Weymouth Pine; and the planting out and after-management is exactly similar. It will 
grow on upland and dry grounds ; but it chiefly delights in moist places. 

is. PINUS fcEMBRAj foliis quinis laevibus. Lin. Sp. PI. 1419- Laryx setnpervirens, 
foliis quinis, nucleis edulibus. Breyn. E. N. C. Cent. 7. Obs. 2. Pinus Sylvestris Cembra. 
Cam. Epit. 42. The cembra pine. 

The Cembra Pine is a fine tree ; the leaves are very beautiful, being of a lighter green than most 
of the Pines, and are produced five in a sheath. They are long and narrow ; and as they 
closely ornament the branches all round, they render the tree on that account very desirable. 
The cones also have a good effect ; for they are larger than those of the Pinaster, and the 
squamoe are beautifully arranged. This tree is a native of the Alps, and is well described by 
Mr. Harte, in his elegant Essays in Husbandry, under the title of Aphernousli Pine. He 
considers it as a tree likely to thrive with great advantage on our bleak, barren, rocky, and 
mountainous lands ; even near the sea, and in north or north-east aspects, where something 
of this hardy kind is much wanted. The timber is large, and has many uses, especially 
within doors or under cover. The bark of the trunk is not reddish like the bark of the Pine, 
but of a white cast like that of the Fir, The shell which incloses the kernel is easily cracked, 
and the kernels are covered with a brown skin which peels off. They are about the size of 
a common pea, triangular, like buck-wheat, and white as a blanclied almond, of an 
oily, agreeable taste, but leaving in the mouth that small degree of asperity which is peculiar 
to wild fruits, and not Unpleasing. These kernels sometimes make apart in a Swiss desert. 
Wainscotting, flooring, and other joiners' work, made with the planks of the Aphcrnousli, 
are of a finer grain, and more beautifully variegated than deal, and the smell of the wood 
is more agreeable. From this tree is extracted a white odoriferous resin. On this occa- 

U u 2 



284 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. as do all cone-bearers, discovering their age ; which in time, with their 
-^f^^ weight, bend them from their natural tendency, which is upright, espe- 
cially toward the top of aged trees, where the leaf is flattish, and not so 
regular. The cone is great and hard, pyramidal, and full of winged 
seeds. 



sion, the curious planter may consult a very scarce book, De Arboribus Coniferis, Resini- 
feris, aliisque Sempiterna fronde f^irentibus, written about two hundred years ago, by Pietro 
Beloni. In the plantations belonging to Jeremiah Dixon, at Gledhow, near Leeds, may be 
seen several of these Pines. They are there galled the Gledhow Pine. 

6. PINUS (picea) follis solitariis emarginatis. Lin. Sp. PI. 1420. Abies taxi folio, 
fructu sursum spectante. Tourn. Inst. 585. Abies conis sursum spectantibus, s. mas. 
Bauh. Pin. 505. The super fir-tree. 

This is a noble, upright tree. The branches are not very numerous, but the bark is smooth and 
delicate. The leaves grow singly on the branches, and their ends are slightly indented. 
Their upper surface is of a fine strong green colour, and their under has an ornament of two 
white lines, running length-ways on each side of the mid-rib, on account of which silvery 
look, this sort is called the Silver Fir. The cones are large, and grow erect ; and when the 
warm weather comes on, they soon shed their seeds ; which should caution us to gather the 
cones at an early season. This tree is common in the mountainous parts of Scotland, and in 
Norway, and affords the yellow deal. From its yielding pitch, it has obtained the title of 
Picea, or Pitch-tree. 

7. PiNUS ( ABIES ) foliis solitariis subulatis mucronatis laevibus bifariam versis. Lin. 
Sp. PI. 1421. Abies foliis solitariis apice acuminatis. Hort. Cliff 445. Tm spkuce 

FIK-TREE. 

The Spruce Fir is a l)€autiful tree, as well as a valuable one for its timber, producing the white 
d<^al. It is a native of Norway and Denmark, where it grows spontaneously, and is one of 
the principal productions of their woods. It also grows plentifully in the Highlands of 
Scotland, where it adorns those cloud-capped mountains with a constant verdure. The long- 
coned Cornish Fir is a variety of this tree, and differs scarcely in any respect, except that 
the leaves and cones are larger. The varieties of the Norway Spruce go by the names of 
Picea major prima, sive Abies rubra : Abies alba, sive foemina. 

8. PINUS (CEDRUS ) foliis fasciculatis acutis. Lin. Sp. PI. J 420. Cedrus Conifera, foliis 
Laricis. B. P. 4'90. Cedrus Libani. Bar. Ic. 499- The cedar of lebanoh. 

This tree is now classed with the Pine ; but as Mr. Evelyn has a separate chapter upon it, I 
shall, in this place, only give its botanical description. 

9. PINUS (balsamea ) foliis solitariis subemarginatis : Subtus linea duplici punctata. 
Lin. Sp. PI. 1421. The balm of gilead fir. 

This beautiful tree is a native of North America. It rises with an upright stem, and its branches 
are garnished with solitary, flat, obtuse leaves, slightly emarginated at top, of a dark green 



OF FOREST-TREES. 285 

The Silver Fir, of a whitish colour, like Rosemary, under the leaf^ is CH. XXII. 
distinguished from the rest by the pectinal shape of it : The cones not so ^-^"V-W 
large as the Picea, grow also upright, and this they call the female : for 
I find botanists not unanimously agreed about the sexes of trees. The 
layers, and even cuttings of this tree, take root, and improve to trees. 



colour on their upper surface, and marked with whitish lines underneath. The cones are 
roundish and small. The buds and leaves are remarkably fragrant, hence its name. From 
wounds made in this tree, is obtained a very fine turpentine, which is sometimes sold in the 
shops for the true Balm of Gilead. It delights in a rich deep soil, 

10. PINUS CoRiENTALis J folUs solitariis tetragenis, Lin. Sp, PI. 1421. Abies orientalis 
tolio brevi et tetragono, fructu minimo deorsum inflexo, Tourn. The oriental fir. 

This is a low, but elegant tree. The leaves are very short and nearly square. The cones hang 
downwards, and are exceedingly small. 

11. PINUS ('L^flixJ foliis fasciculatis obtusis, Lin. Sp. PI. 1420. Larix, folio deciduo, 
conifera. B. P. 1. p. 263. The larch^tree. 

This tree is of quick growth, and will rise to the height of fifty feet ; the branches are slender, 
and their ends generally hang downward. These are garnislied with long, narrow leaves, 
which arise in clusters from one point, and spread open above like the hairs of a painter's 
brush ; they are of a light green, and fall in autumn, like other deciduous trees. In the month 
of April the male flowers appear, which are disposed in form of small cones; the female 
tlowers are collected into oval obluse cones ; these in some kinds have bright purple tops, 
and in others they are white. These differences, however, are accidental, as the seeds taken 
from either of the varieties will produce plants of both sorts. The cones are about one inch 
long, and obtuse at their points ; the scales lie over each other, and are smooth ; under each 
scale two winged seeds are generally lodged. The Larch is a native of the Alps and Appenine 
mountains, and is now very common in all the nurseries of this kingdom. It is remarked 
that those trees which have been planted in the worst soils, and most exposed situations, 
have thriven the best, which is a great encouragement. At Rufford, the seat of the late 
Sir George Savile, there are large plantations of Larch upon a blowing sand, in which situation 
they far outstrip every other kind of tree. Some trees, cannot bear too great a luxuriancy, and 
the Larch, in particular, is apt to grow top-heavy from much shelter and nourishment: They 
should, therefore, be planted in clumps, and not as single trees; neither should the plants be 
taken from very warm nurseries, if intended to be placed out upon exposed situations, but 
rather raised as near the spot as possible, taking care that the soil be good. When they ^re 
intended to grow large, they should not exceed three or four years when planted ; for though 
trees of a greater size will remove very well, yet experience has shewn us that the youngest 
trees, with good roots, bear change of situation the best. The Larch is a tree as yet but little 
known in this kingdom ; but there is great reason to apprehend that it will prove a very 
important acquisition to the planter. In Switzerland they cos'er the roofs of their houses 
with shingles made of Larch. These are generally cut about one foot square, and half an inch 
in thickness, which they nail to the rafters. At first the roof appears white, but in two or 
three years it becomes as black as coal, and all the joints are stopped by the resin which the 
sun extracts from the pores of the wood. This shining varnish renders the roof impenetrable 



286 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. though more natural by its winged seeds. But the masculine Picea will 
endure no amputation, nor is comparable to the Silver Fir for beauty, or 
so fit to adorn walks and avenues. Though the other also be a very stately 
plant, yet it has this infirmity, that though it remains always green, it 
sheds the old leaves more visibly, and not seldom breaks down its pon- 
derous branches : Besides, the timber is nothing so white ; though yet 



to wind or rain. It maivcs a cheap covering, and, as some say, an incombustible one ; but 
that is rather doubtful. I'Vom this tree is extracted wliat we erroneously call Venice Turperi' 
tme. This substance, or natural balsam, flows at first without incision ; when it has done 
dropping, the poor people, who wait on the Fir-woods, make incisions, at about two or three 
feet from the ground, into the trunk of the trees, and into tiiese they fix narrow troughs, 
about twenty inches long. The end of these trouglis is hollow like a ladle ; and in the 
middle is a small hole bored, for the turpentine to run into a receiver, which is placed below 
it. As the balsam runs from the trees, it passes along the doping gutter, or trough, to the 
ladle, and from thence runs through the hole into the receiver. The people -who gather it 
visit the trees morning and evening, from the end of May to September, to collect the tur- 
pentine out of the receivers. When it flows out of the tree, the turpentine is clear, and of a 
yellowish white ; but, as it grows older, it thicken>, and becomes of a citron colour. It is pro- 
cui'ed in greatest abundance in the neighbourhood of Lyons, and in the valley of St. Martin^ 
near Lucern, in Switzerland. This tree, at an early age, makes durable posts and rails. 

The scales of the Larch cones are so closely glewed together, that it is with the greatest 
difficulty we can separate them without bruising the seeds, which renders them unfit for 
vegetation. It is on this account that little good seed can be procured from the wholesale 
dealers. Mr. Speechly, gardener to his Grace the Duke of Portland, has communicated 
to me the following method of raising Seedling Larches, which at once obviates all the 
difficulties complained of, and secures to the planter a certain crop at a moderate 
expense. 

" Let the cones be collected in the month of November, or beginning of December, and 
" when gathered, lay them in heaps about six inches thick, in a shady, but exposed situa- 
" tion, taking care that the heaps be not too large, which would occasion mouldiness. In 
" this manner let them be exposed to the weather till the beginning of May, which is the 
« most proper season for laying them upon the beds, as there is not power in the sun before 
" that time to cause the cones to expand sufficiently. Then let beds of four feet in breadth 
" be prepared on ground newly dug ; a rich, light, and sandy soil is the most proper. The 
" mould should be raked from the middle to the sides of the beds, so as to form a kind 
" of ridge on each side, to prevent the cones, or their seed, from falling into the alleys, 
« which should be two feet in breadth for the convenience of the weeders. The beds 
« being thus finished, the cones should be so disposed, that every part of the surface shall 
« be covered ; and if a few cones are dispersed upon the others, the seeds will be shed 
" with greater certainty. If the weather comes warm and dry, the cones will soon 
" expand, so that it will be proper to examine the beds frequently, to see when a sufficient 
" quantity of seed is shed. The cones may then be removed to a second bed, prepared 
" in the same manner as the former ; but before they are taken off it will be proper to give 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



287 



even that colour be not always the best character : That which comes CH. XXII. 
from Bergen, Swinsund, Mott, Langland, Dranton, &c, (which expe- "'"^^y*-^ 
rienced workmen call the Dram,) being long, straight, and clear, of a 
yellow and more cedary colour, is esteemed much before the white for 
flooring and wainscot ; for masts, &c. those of Prussia, which we call 
Spruce and Norway, especially from Gottenberg, and about Riga, are the 



"them a shake in a coarse sieve, which will occasion a considerable quantity of seed 
" to fall from them, especially if this operation be performed in the middle of the day, for 
" the morning and evening dews contract the cones, and prevent their parting with the 
" seed. As soon as the cones are removed from their beds, let the seed be covered with 
" a little fine mould, which should be sifted about a quarter of an inch thick over every 
"part. Should the weather become hot and dry, a few gentle waterings will greatly 
" promote the growth of the young plants. After this, nothing more will be required but 
" keeping the beds clear of weeds. The cones may be removed from the second to a third 
" bed, and great success has ever been had upon a fourth bed. No time can be fixed for 
" the laying of the cones upon the beds ; it depends entirely upon the dryness and warmth 
" of the weather." 

And here it will be necessary to remark, that a plentiful stock of seed is absolutely ne- 
cessary, in order to obtain a full crop of plants ; for when these stand thin on the ground, 
they are very liable to be thrown out by the frost in the first winter. A full crop should 
rise like a brush ; the roots will then be matted together, forming a tough bed that will resist 
the severest winter. Plants raised in the manner here recommended, rise with e-reater vigour 
than those sown in the common way ; from which it appears that the seed of the Larch, 
and probably we may say, of all the Pine tribe, decreases in its vegetative power, after it has 
been taken from the cones. And it is not improbable but that keeping the cones dri/ during 
the winter, may be productive of the same bad effect. 

Mr. Speechly has not the least doubt but that the various kinds of Firs and Pines may 
be raised in the same easy and profitable manner ; though his experiments have hitherto 
been confined to the Larch. 

12. PINUS fcANADENSisJ folUs soUtariis linearibus obtusiusculis submembranaceis. 
Lin. Sp. PI. 1421. Abies foliis solitariis confertis obtusis membranaceis. Gron, V'irg. J 91. 
The CANADA spruce fir. 

This is a native of North America. It grows on the mountains and higher lands, and arrives 
at a considerable size. The varieties are : the White Canada Spruce, the Red Canada 
Spruce, and the Black Canada Spruce. These only differ in the colour of their cones, which 
are small. 

This GENUS of plants belongs to the class and order Monoecia Monadelphia, there being 
male and female flowers on the same plant, and the stamina joined in one body, at their 
base. These twelve species flower in the months of April and May. The male flowers 
are collected in conic bunches, and the females in close cones, which grow into the real 
cones, containing the seeds. 



283 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. best; unless we had more commerce of them from our plantations in 
-^"^r^^ New England, which are preferable to any of them ; there lying rotting 
at Piscataway a mast of such prodigious dimensions, as nobody will 
adventure to ship and bring away. All these bear their seeds in conic 
figures, after an admirable manner and closeness, to protect their winged 
seeds. The Hemlock-tree, as they call it in New England, is a kind of 
Spruce. 



All the sorts of Pines are produced from seeds. These seeds are got by laying the cones 
before a very gentle fire, or rather by exposing thera to the beams of the sun, and often 
turning them. The seeds of the Larch-tree are particularly difficult to separate from the 
cone, so that we are generally obliged to be at the expense of slitting the cones into quarters 
with knives ; an operation both tedious and expensive. The following are the directions 
given by Mr. Miller for the propagation of tliis genus of plants. 

" The best season for sowing the seeds of Pines is about the end of March ; and when 
" the seeds are sown, the beds should be covered with nets, otherwise, when the plants 
" begin to appear, with the husk of the seed on their heads, the birds will pick them off", and 
" destroy them. 

" Where the quantity of seeds to be sown is not great, it will be a good way to sow 
" them either in boxes or pots, filled with a light, loamy earth, which may be removed 
" from one situation to another, according to the season of the year ; but if there is a large 
" quantity of the seeds, so as to require a good space to receive them, they should be sown 
" on an east or north-east border, where they may be screened from the sun, whose heat 
"is very inj urious to these plants at their first appearance above ground. Those seeds 
" which are sown in pots or boxes, should also be placed in a shady situation, but not 
" under trees ; and if they are screened from the sun with mats, at the time when the plants 
" first come up, it will be a good method to preserve thera. 

" Most of the sorts will come up in about six or seven weeks after they are sown ; but 
" the seeds of the Stone or cultivated Pine, and two or three of the others, whose shells 
" are very hard, frequently lie in the ground a whole year ; so that when the plants do not 
" come up the first year, the ground should not be disturbed, but kept clean from weeds, 
" and the following spring the plants will rise. This frequently happens in dry seasons, 
" and when they are sown in places a little too much exposed to the sun. Therefore the 
" surest method is, to soak the seeds in water twenty-four hours before they are sown. 

" When the plants appear, they must be constantly kept clean from weeds ; and in very 
" dry seasons, if they are now and then gently refreshed with water, it will forward their 
" growth ; but this must be done with great care and caution ; for if they are hastily watered, 
" it will wash the tender plants out of the ground, or lay thera down flat, which often rots 
" their shanks so that unless it be judiciously performed, it will be the best way to give 
" them no water, but only screen them from the sun. 

" If the plants come up too close, it will be a good method to thin them gently about 
" the middle of July. The plants which are drawn up may then be planted on other beds. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



289 



In the Scottish Highlands are trees of wonderful altitude (though not cH. XXI 1. 
altogether so tall, thick, and fine as the former) which grow upon places "^-"^""^ 
so inaccessible, and so far from the sea, that, as one says, they seem to be 
planted by God on purpose for nurseries of seed, and monitors to our 
industry, reserved, with other blessings, to be discovered in our days 
amongst the new-invented improvements of husbandry, not known to our 
southern people of this nation. Did we consider the pains they take 



" which should be prepared ready to receive them, for they should be immediately planted as 

they are drawn up, because their tender roots are soon dried and spoiled at this season of 
" the year. This work should be done, if possible, in cloudy or rainy weather, and then 
" the plants will draw out with better roots, and will soon put out new fibres again ; but 
" if the weather should prove clear and dry, the plants should be shaded every day from 
" the sun with mats, and now and then gently refreshed with water. In drawing up the 

plants, there should be great care taken not to disturb the roots of the plants left re- 
" maining in the seed-beds ; so that if the ground be hard, the beds should be well watered 
" some time before the plants are thinned, to soften and loosen the earth ; and if after the 
" plants are drawn out, the beds are again gently watered to settle the earth to the roots of 
" the remaining plants, it will be of great service to them ; but it must be done with great 
" care, so as not to wash out their roots, or lay down the plants. The distance which 
^' should be allowed these plants in the new beds, may be four or five inches, row from row, 
" and three inches in the rows. 

" Let the plants remain in the seed-bed till the spring twelvemonth, by which time they 
" will be fit to transplant where they are to remain for good : for the younger the plants 
" are when planted out, the better they will succeed ; for although some sorts will bear 
" transplanting at a much greater age, yet young plants planted at the same time will, in a 
" few years, overtake the large ones, and soon outstrip them in their growth ; and there is 
" this advantage in planting young, it saves the expense of staking, and much watering, 
" which large plants require. I have often seen plantations of several sorts of Pines, which 
" were made of plants six or seven feet high, and at the same time others of one foot high 
" planted between them, which in ten years were better trees than the old ones, and much 
" more vigorous in their growth ; but if the ground, where they are designed to remain 
" cannot be prepared by the time before-mentioned, the plants should be planted out of 
" the beds into a nursery, where they may remain two years, but not longer ; for it will 
" be very hazardous to remove these trees at a greater age. 

" The best season to transplant all the sorts of Pines is about the latter end of March 
" or the beginning of April, just before they begin to shoot ; for although the Scotch Pine, 
" and some of the most hardy sorts, may be transplanted in winter, especially when they 
" are growing in strong land, where they may be taken up with balls of earth to their 
" roots ; yet this is what I would not advise for common practice, having frequently seen it 
" attended with bad consequences ; but those which are removed in the spring rarely fail. 

" Where these trees are planted in exposed situations, they should be put pretty close 

Volume I. X X 



290 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. to bring them out of the Alps, we should less stick at the difficulty of 
"""'-^r^*^ transporting them from the utmost parts of Scotland. To the former sorts 
we may add the Esterund Firs, Tonsberry, Frederickstadt, Hilleren, 
Holmstrand, Landifer, Stavenger, Lawrwat, &c. There is likewise 
a kind of Fir called in Dutch the Green-boome, much used in building 
of ships, though not for men of war, because of its lightness, and that it 



" too-ether, that they may shelter each other ; and when they have grown a few years, 
" part of the plants may be cut down to give room for the others to grow; but this must 
" be gradually performed, lest, by too much opening the plantation at once, the air should 
"be let in among the remaining trees with too great violence, which will stop their 
" growth. 

" Although these evergreen trees are by many persons despised on account of their dark 
" gi-een in summer, yet a proper mixture of them in large clumps makes a fine appearance 
" about a seat in winter ; and in summer, by their contrast with other trees, they have a 
" good effect in diversifying the scene. 

Whenever large plantations are designed to be made, it will be proper to form the 
" nursery upon a piece of good ground as near the plantation as possible ; or the cottagers 
" may be induced to raise the seeds, which will give employment to the women and 
" children at a time when the farmer has least occasion for their assistance. 

" The Scotch Pine, as was before observed, being the hardiest of all the kinds, and the 
« wood of it the most useful, is the sort which best deserves our care. This will thrive 
" upon the most barren sands, where scarce any thing else, except heath and furze, will 
" wrow. There are many thousand acres of such land lying convenient for water-carriage, 
<' (at present affording no benefit to the public,) that might, by plantations of these trees, 
" become good estates to their proprietors, and also a national benefit ; and as the legis- 
" lature has taken this into consideration, and already passed some laws for the encouraging 
" these plantations, as also for their preservation and security, so it may be hoped that this 
improvement will be undertaken by the gentlemen who are possessed of such lands in all 
" the different parts of the kingdom ; for although they may not expect to receive much 
" profit from these plantations in their own time, yet their successors will be highly bene- 
" fited ; and the pleasure which those growing trees will afford, by beautifying the present 
"dreary parts of the country, will, in some measure, recompense them for their trouble and 
" expense ; and by creating employment for the poor, lessen those rates which are now so 
" high in many parts of this kingdom. 

" The expense of making these plantations is what most people are afraid of; but the 
" greatest expense is that of fencing them from the cattle, &c. for the other is trifling, as 
" there will be no necessity for preparing the ground to receive the plants ; and the charge 
" of planting an acre of land with these plants will not be more than twenty or thirty 
'< shillings, where labour is dear, exclusive of the plants which may be valued at forty 
*' shillings more. I have planted many acres of land with these trees, which were covered 
" with heath and furze, and only dug holes between to put in the plants, and afterward 



OF FOREST-TREES. 291 

is not so strong as Oak ; but yet proper enough for vessels of great burden, CH. XXII. 
which stand much out of the water : This sort comes into Holland from '-''v^ 
Norway, and other eastland countries; it is somewhat heavier than 
Fir, and stronger ; nor do either of them bend sufficiently. As to the 
seeds, they may be sown in beds, or cases, at any time during March ; and 
when they peep, carefully defended with Furzes, or the hke fence, from 



" laid the heath or furze, which was cut, upon the surface of the ground about their roots, 
« to prevent the ground from drying— and few of the plants have failed. These plants 
" were most of them four years old from seed, nor was there any care taken to clean the 
" ground afterward, but the whole left to shift for themselves ; and in five or six years the 
" Pines grew so well as to overpower the heath and furze, and destroy it. 

" The distance which I generally allow these plants, in all large, open situations, is 
" about four feet, but always irregular, avoiding planting in rows as much as possible ; 
*' and in the planting great care should be used not to take the plants faster than they 

can be put down, so that some men should be employed in digging up the plants while 
" others are planting. Those who take up the plants must be looked after, to see they do 
" not tear off the roots, or wound the bark ; and as fast as they are taken up, their roots 
" should be covered to prevent their drying, and put into their new quarters as soon as 
" possible. In planting them, care should be had to make the holes large enough for their 
" roots, as also to loosen and break the clods of earth, and put the finest immediately 
" about their roots, then to settle the earth gently with the foot to the roots of the plant. 
" If these things are duly observed, and a proper season be chosen for planting, there 
" will be very little hazard of success ; but I have seen some plantations made with plants 
" which were brought from a great distance, and had been so closely packed up as to cause 
" a heat, whereby most of the plants within had their leaves changed yellow, and few of 
" them have grown, which has discouraged others from planting, not knowing the true 
" cause of the failure. 

" After the plantations are made, the only care they require for five or six years, will be 
" to secure the plants from cattle, hares, and rabbits ; if these are admitted to them, they 
" will make great destruction in a short time ; for if the branches are gnawed by hares or 
" rabbits, it will greatly retard the growth of the plants, if not destroy them entirely. 

" In about five or six years after planting, the branches of the young trees will have 
" met, and begin to interfere with each other ; therefore they will require a little pruning ; 
" but this must be done with great caution. The lower tier of branches only should be 
" cut off ; this should be performed in September, at which time there will be no danger 
" of the wounds bleeding too much, and the turpentine will harden over the wounds, as 
" the season grows cold, so will prevent the wet from penetrating the wounds. These 
" branches should be cut off close to the stem of the plants, and care should be taken 
" in doing this, not to break any of the remaining branches of the young trees. This work 
"should be repeated every other year, at each time taking off only the lower tier of 
" brandies j for if the plants are much trimmed, it will greatly retard their growth, as it 

X X 2 



292 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. the rapacious birds, which are very apt to pull them up, by taking hold 
^'^'"'(''^ of that little infecund part of the seed, which they commonly bear upon 
their tops. The beds wherein you sow them had need to be sheltered 
from the southern aspects, with some screen of reed, or thick hedge : Sow 
them in shallow rills, not above half an inch deep, and cover them with 
fine light mould ; being risen a finger in height, establish their weak 



" does in general that of all trees ; but as these trees never put out any new shoots where 
" they are pruned, so they suffer more from amputation than those which do. 

" In those parts of France where they have forests of these trees, the proprietors always 
" bestow their fagots upon those who give the first pruning to their young trees, for their 
" labour ; so it costs them no money. At the second pruning, the proprietor has one-third 
" of the fagots, and the dressers have the other two for their work ; and afterwards the 
" fagots are equally divided between the workmen and proprietors ; but there must be 
"great care taken that they do not cut off more than they ought. 

" In about twelve or fourteen years these will require no more pruning, for their upper 
" branches will kill those below where they have not air ; but soon after this, if the plants 
" have made good progress, it may be necessary to thin them ; and this should be gradually 
"performed, beginning in the middle of the plantation first, leaving the outside close 
" to screen those within from the cold, so by degrees coming to them at last, whereby 
" those which were first thinned will have had time to get strength, so will not be in 
" danger of suffering from the admission of cold air. When these plantations are thinned, 
" the trees should not be dug up, but their stems cut off close to the ground ; for their 
" roots never shoot again, but decay in the earth, so there can no harm arise by leaving 
" them, and hereby the roots of the remaining plants are not injured. The trees which 
" are now cut will be fit for many purposes : Those which are straight will make good 
" putlocks for the bricklayers, and serve for scaffolding poles ; so that there may be as much 
" made by the sale of these, as will defray the whole expense of the planting, and pro* 
" bably the interest of the money besides. 

"As the upright growth of these trees renders their wood the more valuable, they should 
" be left pretty close together, whereby they will draw each other up, and grow very tall. 
" I have seen some of these trees growing, whose naked stems have been more than seventy 
" feet high, and as straight as a walking-cane ; and from one of these trees there were as 
" many boards sawed, as laid the floor of a room near twenty feet square. — If these trees 
" are left eight feet asunder each way, it will be sufficient room for their growth ; there- 
" fore if, at the firgt thinning, a fourth part of the trees are taken away, the others may 
" stand twelve or fourteen years longer, by which time they will be of a size for making 
" ladders and standards for scaffolding, and many other purposes ; so that, from this sale, 
" as much may be made, as not only to pay the remaining part of the expensg of planting, 
" if any should be wanting in the first, but rent for the land with interest." 

Although this long extract may not perfectly coincide with the sentiments of every 
planter of Pines, yet, in general, I think it will be of use. The following letter, addressed 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



293 



stalks by sifting some more earth about them, especially the Pines, which cH. XXI I 
being more top-heavy, are more apt to swag. When they are of two or '"-^'V^*' 
three years' growth, you may transplant them where you please ; and 
when they have gotten good root, they will make prodigious shoots, but 
not for the first three or four years comparatively. They will grow both 
in moist and barren gravel, and poor ground, so it be not over sandy and 



to me by James Farquharson, Esq. upon the method of raising the Larch and the Scotch 
Pine, will, I flatter myself, be highly acceptable. Such liberal communications deserve 
greatly of the public. 

Marlee, C Scotland,) June 22, 177 5. 
" II. In order to raise plantations of the Scotch Fir, let the cones be 

" gathered in the month of February, or March, from thriving young trees, as the old ones 
"are not easily accessible, nor so productive of seed. These are to be exposed to the 
" heat of the sun, thinly spread on any kind of coarse canvas, taking them under cover 
"in the night-time, and only exposing them when the sun shines. This soon makes the 
" cones expand with a crackling noise. W^hen any quantity of the seed is shed, it must 
" be separated from the cones by a scarce, otherwise the first-dropped seeds would become 
" too dry before the cones yielded their whole quantity, which often takes up a consider- 
" able time ; so that we are sometimes obliged to dry the cones in kilns, to make them 
"give their contents in time for sowing — which ought to be done the end of April 
^'or beginning of May. The first method of procuring the seed is certainly the most 
" eligible, though the other answers very well when attentively performed, so as not to 
" damage the seed by too much heat. A light loamy soil, trenched a foot and a half deep, 
"and laid out in beds five feet broad, answers the best for sowing. Let the seeds 
" be sown very thick, and covered with a thick sifting of mould from the alleys. Plants 
" raised in this manner will rise like a brush. No kind of manure should be given to the 
" beds, as productive of weeds ; the drawing of which not only brings up many of the 
" tender plants, but loosens the ground, and makes blanks that let in frosts in winter, and 
" drought in summer. To give an idea of the sowing, I never consider my crop of plants 
" good, unless I have above a thousand in each foot long of the beds, that is, in five square 
" feet. Upon their having two seasons growth, I plant them out irregularly from the 
"seed-bed, about three feet asunder, upon the mountainous grounds where they are 
" to rise to perfection. I begin to plant the driest ground in autumn, eighteen months 
" after sowing, and persist in this operation until the frost prevents me, I begin again in 
" February, or rather as the weather admits, and continue this work sometimes to the end 
" of April, so as to plant out the product of the two-year old seed-beds. I put the plants 
" into the ground with two cuts of a spade, thus > . I raise the point of the angle with 
" what we call a dibble, and laying the plant up to the neck, stamp down the raised sod 
" with the foot. In this method, two men may plant a thousand in a day. When the 
" ground is rocky, or very stony, I use a dibble, shod with iron, having a cleft at the 
" extremity to lead down the root, putting the plants into the ground in the manner that 



294 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK I. lig'lit, and want a loamy ligature ; but before sowing (I mean here for 
•^^y^ large designs) turn it up a foot deep, sowing or setting your seeds 
a hand distance, and riddle earth upon them ; in five or six weeks they 
will peep. When you transplant, water them well before, and cut the 
clod out about the root, as they do melons out of the hot-bed, which knead 
close to them like an egg : Thus they may be sent safely many miles, 



" cabbages are planted. One man will plant as many in this way, as two in the other j 
"yet the first method is preferable where the ground admits of it, as I have always 
" observed fewer plants to fail. My reason for planting from the seed-bed is, that 
" it comes nearest to the operation of nature. Plants removed from the seed-bed into the 
" nursery, must have their roots pruned considerably before they can be planted into the 
" pits where they are to continue, which adds greatly to the expense. Besides, nursing 
" causes a luxui-iant growth in this hardy mountainous tree, which spoils its nature and 
robs it of longevity. 

" It is generally believed that there are two kinds of Fir-trees, the produce of Scot^ 
" land, vizi the red or resinous large tree, of a fine grain, and hard solid wood ; the other, 
" a white wooded Fir, with a much smaller proportion of resin in it, of a coarser grain, 
"and of a soft, spongy nature; it never comes to such a size, and is more liable to decay. 
" At first appearance this would readily denote two distinct species, but I am convinced 
" that all the trees in Scotland, under the denomination of Scotch Fir, are the same j and 
" that the difference of the quality of the wood, and size of the trees, are entirely owing to 
"circumstances, such as climate, situation, and the soil they grow in. The finest Fir- 
*' trees appear in the most mountainous parts of the Highlands of Scotland, in glens, or 
" on sides of hills generally lying to a northerly aspect, and the soil of a hard gravelly 
" consistence, being the natural produce of these places. The winged seeds are scattered 
" in quantities by the wind, from the cones of the adjacent trees, which expand in April 
" and May with the heat of the sun ; these seedlings, when young, rise extremely close 
" together, which makes them grow straight, and free from side-branches of any size, to 
" the height of fifty or sixty feet befoi*e they acquire the diameter of a foot : Even in this 
" progress to height they are very slow, occasioned by the poorness of the soil, and the 
" numbers on a small surface, which I may say makes them in a constant state of war for 
" their scanty nourishment, the stronger and tallest by degrees overtopping the weaker, 
" and when the winds blow they lash against one another ; this assists in beating off any 
" horizontal braitches that might damage the tirhber with knots, as Avell as by degrees 
" crushes the overtopped trees. In such state of hostility they continue struggling until 
" the master-trees acquire some space ai'ound them ; then they begin to shoot out in a more 
" bushy manner at the top, gradually losing their spiral form, increasing afterwards more 
" in size of body than height, some acquiring four feet diameter, and about sixty feet 
" of height to the branches, fit for the finest deal board. The growth is still extremely slow, 
" as is plainly proved by the smallness of the grain of the wood, which appears distinctly 
" in circles from the centre to the bark. Upon cutting a tree over close at the root, I can 



OF FOREST-TREES. 295 

but the top must neither be bruised, nor much less cut, which would cH. XXII. 
dwarf it for ever : one kind also will take of slips or layers^ interred '"■^'y^^ 
about the latter end of August, and kept moist. 

3. The best time to transplant, were in the beginning of April ; they 
will thrive mainly in a stiff, hungry clay, or rather loam ; but by no 



ventqre to point out the exact age, which in these old Firs, comes to an amazing 
" number of years. I lately pitched upon a tree of two feet and a half diameter, which 
" is near the size of a planted Fir of fifty years of age, and I counted exactly two hundred 
" and fourteen circles or coats, which makes this natural Fir above four times the age 
" of the planted one. Now as to planted Firs, these are raised first in dressed ground 
" from the seed, where they stgnd two seasons or more ; they are then planted out in the 
" ground they are to continue in at regular distances, so have a clear circumference round 
" them for extending both roots and branches. The one gives too quick nourishment to 
" the tree which shoots out in luxuriant growth, and the other allows many of the branches 
" to spread horizontally, spoiling the timber with knots ; besides, this quick growth 
" occasions these thick yearly circular coats of wood, which form a coarse grain 
" of a spongy soft nature. The juices never after ripen, into a proportional quantity, 
" their resinous preservative balm ; so that the plantations decay before the wood acquires 
" age, or a valuable size ; and the timber, when used in work, has neither strength, 
" beauty, nor duration. I believe the climate has likewise a great share in forming the 

nature of the best wood, which I account for in the following manner : The most moun- 
" tainous parts of the Highlands, particularly the northerly hanging situations, where these 
" fine Fir-trees are, have a much shorter time of vegetation than a more southerly exposure, 
*' or the lower open countries, being shaded by high hills from the rays of the sun, even 
" at mid-day, for months together ; so that with regard to other vegetables, nature visibly 
" continues longer in a torpid state there than in other places of the same latitude. This 
" dead state of nature for so long a time yearly, appears to me necessary to form the 
" strength and health of this particular species of timber. No doubt they may at first 
" show a gratefidness for better soil and more sun, by shooting out spontaneously ; but if the 
" plant or tree is so altered by this luxury, that it cannot attain any degree of perfection fit 

for the purposes intended, the attempt certainly proves in vain. 

" From what is said above, it is not at all my intention to dissuade from planting Scotch 
" Fir, but to encourage those that have the proper soil and situation to do so ; being of 
"opinion that where these circumstances agree, and there, planting not in lines, but 
" irregularly and thicker than common, the trees will come to be of equal size and value 
" with the natural ones. In confidence of this, I have planted several millions on the sides 
" of hills, out of the reach of seed from the natural Firs. 

" As to the Larch, it grows in this country, in great abundance, from the seed of our 
own plantations. I have found this beautiful and hardy tree to answer extremely well 
" when planted out, on barren grounds, from six inches to six feet high ; and they are 



296 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. means in over light, or rich soil : Fill the holes, therefore, with such 
-^y"^^ barren earth, if your ground be improper of itself ; and if the clay be too 
stiff and untractable, with a little sand, removing them with as much 
earth about the roots as is possible, though the Fir will better endure 
a naked transplantation than the Pine. If you be necessitated to plant 
towards the latter end of summer, lay a pretty deal of horse-litter upon 



" seldom known to fail, except where water has reached their roots. I have often 
" remarked with surprise, that when cattle or deer have broken off the main shoots with 
" their horns, another branch has taken the lead, and stretched away at such a rate as to 
" heal up the wound so completely, that in a few years it was with difficulty I coOld 
"discover the traces of the injury. The amazing growth of the Larix far exceeds 
" with me all the native as well as foreign trees, bearing the exposure and inclemency of 
" the season better than any of them ; and of late I have the pleasure to find that they 
" naturalize themselves by sowing. I wish my experience could assist me in speaking 
" with as much certainty with regard to the value and usefulness of the timber; but in that 

" I can give but little satisfaction, as my oldest trees are not thirty years from the seed. 

" At Dunkeld I have seen a small summer-house finished with Larix wood ; the plants 
" came from London in earthen pots, about the year 1 740, rather as a curiosity, than from 
" any expectation of their excellency. Though full of circular knots, the wood looked 
" well, and did not seem to gall or Avarp so much as Fir of the same age and seasoning 
" would have done* It will be necesary to remark, that the heart or centre of large trees 
" is generally the knottiest part of the trunk, occasioned by the collateral branches, Avhen 
" young, supporting the stem to stature, which, as the tree advances, die and fall off ; and 
" this is particularly evident in trees that grow in thickets. The surface soon heals over, 
" and the body of the ti-ee is annually increased by circular rings of wood. I shall suppose 
" a tree to be a foot in diameter, when the lower bi-anches die and drop off. In course of 
" time it acquires four feet in diameter, which gives a surrounding coat, one foot and 
a half in thickness, of clean timber, the centre remaining knotty. The growth of the 
Larix, and manner of dropping its branches when close together, very much resembles 
" the Fir ; so I am confident this fault of knottiness, which seems to be the principal one, 
" will amend by age. Yours, &c." 

The valuable plantations of Firs now growing upon Crooksbury Heath, in the county 
of Surrey, prove to what a profitable purpose such kind of land may be applied : The Heath 
consists of near 3700 acres ; the soil a deep sand, and covered with short heath. In 1 776 
twelves acres of this Heath were planted with Scotch Firs, four years old, at the distance 
of four feet. The ground was no ways prepared, but the holes were simply dug, and the 
plants put in. In 1788 the plants were thinned, being then about the height of fourteen 
feet, and produced eight pounds per acre. The thinnings were sold for hop-poles, and the 
branches were made into bavins for burning lime. Mr. Giles, of Farnham, in the neigh- 
bourhood of this Heath, has for many years used no other poles than Firs for hops, and 
which he has found to answer full as well as Ash or Alder, Those he has at present, have 



OF FOREST-TREES. 297 

the surface of the ground, to keep off the heat^ and in winter the cold ; cH. XXI L 
but let no dung touch either stem or root : You may likewise sow in 
such earth about February ; they will make a shoot the very first year 
of an inch ; next an handful ; the third year three feet, and thence- 
forward above a yard annually. A northern gentleman (who has 
obliged me with this process upon his great experience) assures me that 



been nine years in use, and at this time are perfectly sound. He has attended with much 
accuracy to their durable quality as applied to the purpose of hop-poles : and he finds that 
Larch is the best, the Weymouth Pine the next, and the Scotch and Spruce, the least 
durable. The second thinnings (1794) are now taking place, and the trees are converted into 
scantlings and rafters, being about forty feet in height. The number of trees at present 
standing upon the twelve acres, are computed at 18,531, and are valued at 573/. 

It would appear from the hardy nature of the Fir, and the readiness with which it grows 
in almost every part of this island, that it is an indigenous tree ; yet Csesar expressly says 
that it is not a native. In his description of the country, he observes, that Britain had all 
the trees of Gaul, except the Beech and Fir : Materia cujusque generis, ut i)i Gallia, prceter 
Fagum ct Abietem, As all the British words for the Beech are clearly of Roman derivation, 
Faighe, Faghe, or Faydh, it is probable that it was introduced into Britain with the Roman 
colonies : but with regard to the Fir, the case is otherwise, for many of its names are 
purely British ; and this is a testimony not to be overthrown. The ingenious Mr. Whitaker, 
in the first volume of his History of Manchester, p. 309, treats this subject with great learn- 
ing and precision. He says, " Among the many Roman names for the Fir in the British 

language, there are three which are purely and absolutely British. The Scotch distin- 
^' guish the Fir by the British appellation of Gius ; the Irish, by the British appellation of 
"Giumhus; and the Welch, by the British appellation of Fynniduydh. Had the Fir been 
" originally introduced into the fields of Britain by the Romans, all the British appro- 
" priated appellations of it must have been, as some of them evidently are, the mere de- 
" rivatives of the Roman Abies, Z-aban, S-ibuydh, S-apin, and S-abin. And the existence 
" of one British appropriated appellation for the Fir, is a strong argument in itself that the 
" tree was not introduced by the Romans, but that it was originally British. 

" Firs actually appear as early as the third century in the unromanized regions of 
"Caledonia and Ireland, and appear as the acknowledged aborigines of the country. 
^' Firs are frequently mentioned in the poems of the Caledonian bard, not as plants seen 
"by him on the continent or in the provinces, not merely as forming the equivocal 

imagery of a similitude, but as actually and anciently growing in both. The spear of a 
" warrior, says an Irishman in Ulster, pointing to a neighbouring tree, is like that blasted 
" Fir : And it is compared by another to the Fir of Slimora particularly, a mountain in the 
" north of Ireland. And the tomb of a fallen warrior, upon the western shore of Cale- 
" donia, is thus described from the reality by the bard : Dost thou not behold, Malvina, a rock 
" with its head of heath ? Three aged Firs beiidfrom its face ; green is the narrow plain at its feet. 

" The Fir is also discovered in our Mancunian mosses together with the Birch and the 

Oak, as frequent as the Oak, and much more frequent than the Birch. The Fir of our 

Volume J. Y y 



298 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. Fir, and this Peralis Arbor, as Virgil calls it, the Pine, are abundantly 
^^y^^ planted in Northumberland, which are in a few years grown to the magni- 
tude of ship.masts ; and from all that has been said, deduces these 
encouragements : 1. The facility of their propagation ; 2. The nature 
of their growth, which is to affect places where nothing else will thrive ; 
3. Their uniformity and beauty; 4. Their perpetual verdure; 5. Their 
sweetness ; 6. Their fruitfulness, affording seed, gum, fuel, and timber, 
of all other woods the most useful and easy to work ; all Avhich highly 
recommend it as an excellent improvement of husbandry, fit to be 
enjoined by some solemn edict to the inhabitants of this our island, that 
we may have masts, and those other materials, of our own growth. — 
In planting the Silver Abies, set not the roots too deep ; it affects the 
surface more than the rest. 

I'l.vE. 4. The Pine (of which are reckoned no less than ten several sorts, 
preferring the domestic, or sative, for the fuller growth,) is likewise 



" mosses is not, as the wild hypothesis of some assert it to be, a mere mimicry of the 
" natural Fir, merely an Oak or a Birch that, lying for ages in the unctuous mass, has 
" discharged itself of all its original properties, and has adopted all the characteristic pro- 
" perties of the Fir. Had this been the case, it could not possibly be distinguished from 
" the Oak or the Birch, and all the trees of our mosses must have been equally and abso* 
" lutely Firs. The Fir is the only tree of our mosses that exhibits a resinous quality. And 
" the Fir of our mosses is as much discriminated to the eye, by the peculiar nature of its 
" grain, as the Oak or the Birch. Nor is this all : The Fir is perpetually discovered in such 
" of our mosses particularly, as were demonstrably prior to the settlement of the Romans 
" amon"' us. It is discovered in such mosses as appear to the present period actually tra- 
" versed by the roads of the Romans. It is discovered immediately adjoining to the road, 
" and absolutely on both sides of it. Thus is the Fir found very frequent in the moss of 
" Failsworth, close to either margin of the street, and mingled with Oaks and Birches. 
" And as the road demonstrates the moss to have been formed before the settlement of the 
" Romans at Manchester, so the trees discovered in the moss must have been all equally 
" cotemporary with it, and all equally with it prior to the settlement of the Romans at 
" Manchester. This argument carries a decisive authority with it : but we can prosecute 
" it fairly up to demonstration : The Fir has been discovered in our mosses, not only in 
" such parts as are immediately contiguous to the Roman roads over them, but in such as 
are actually occupied and covered with the line of the Roman roads, and in the black 
spongy earth immediately beneath the Roman gravel. It has been very recently dug 
up by myself under the roots of the road over Failsworth Moss. And I have now in my 
own possession two pieces of tried genuine Fir that were bedded with the remains of 
" a Birch-tree one yard and a half in the mossy soil, and three yards under the crown of 
" the Roman gravel. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



299 



of both sexes, whereof the male growing lower, with a rounder shape, CH. XXII. 
hath its wood more knotty and rude than the female ; it is lank, longer, "-^^y"^ 
narrow, and pointed ; bears a black, thick, large cone, including the 
kernel with an hard shell, covered under a thick scale : The nuts of this 
tree, (not much inferior to the almond,) are used, among other ingredients, 
• in beatilla-pies at the best tables. They should be gathered in June 
before they gape ; and having hung two years, (for there will be always 
some ripe, and some green on the same tree,) preserve them in their nuts 
in sand, as you treat acorns, &;c. till the season invite, and then set or 
sow them in ground which is cultivated like the Fir in most respects ; 
only you may bury the nuts a little deeper. By a friend of mine they 
were rolled in a fine compost made of sheep-dung, and scattered in 
February, and this way never failed Fir and Pine ; they came to be above 
an inch high by May ; and a Spanish author tells us, that to macerate them 
five days in a child's urine, and three days in water, is of wonderful 
effect : This were an expeditious process for great plantations ; unless 



" These are three arguments which are all sufficiently convincing of themselves : These 
" are three arguments which, springing from as many different sources, all happily unite 
''together in one common channel, and form together an irresistible tide of evidence. 
" And a fact which relates to the remotest antiquity, and which is asserted against the 
" highest historical authority, cannot be too powerfully demonstrated. The Fir then was 
" one of the trees of Britain before the arrival of the Romans among us." 

The Pine was sacred to Cybele, who turned her beloved Attis into that tree : 

Et succincta comas, hirsutaque vertice Pinus ; 
Grata Deum matri. Siquidem Cybeleilis Attis 

Exuit hac hominem, truncoque induruit illo. ovid. met. 

It was a custom among the ancients, when they gave over any employment, to devote 
their instruments, and hang them up in some sacred place. Virgil alludes to this custom 
when he makes Corydon say. 

Hie arguta sacra pendebit fistula Pinu. ecl. vii. 

Pendebatque vagi pastoris in arbore votum 

Garrula sylvestri fistula sacra Deo. propert. 



Some years ago, a stone was discovered in Provence, in France, on which was figured a 
Pine-tree with all the symbols of Cybele and Attis. Two tympanums hang on the 
branches of the tree on one side> and on the other a pastordl pipe, agreeable to ancient 
custom. MONTFAUCON, vol. i. 

Yy 2 



300 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. you would rather set the Pine as they do peas, but at wider distances, 
•^"y^^ that when there is occasion of removal, they might be taken up with the 
earth and all ; 1 say taken up, and not removed by evulsion, because they 
are, of all other trees, the most obnoxious to miscarry without this 
caution ; and therefore it were much better, where the nuts might be 
commodiously set and defended, never to remove them at all, as it gives * 
this tree so considerable a check. The safest course of all, were to set 
the nuts in an earthen pot, and, in frosty weather, to show it a little to 
the fire ; the entire clod will come out with them, which are to be re- 
served, and set in the naked earth, in convenient and fit holes prepared 
before-hand, or so soon as the thaw is universal. Some commend the 
strewing a few oats at the bottom of the fosses, or pits, in which you 
transplant the naked roots, for a great promotement of their taking, and 
that it will cause them to shoot more in one year than in three : But to 
this I have already spoken. Other kinds not so rigid, nor the bark, leaf, 
cone, and nuts so large, are those called the Mountain-Pine, a very large 
stately tree. There is likewise the Wild or Bastard Pine and Taeda, clad 
with thin long leaves, and bearing a turbinated cone : abundance of 
excellent resin comes from this tree. There is also the Pinaster, another 
of the wild kind ; but none of them exceed the Spanish, called by us 
the Scotch Pine, its tall and erect growth making it proper for large and 
ample walks and avenues. Several of the other wild sorts incline to 
grow crooked. But for a more accurate description of these coniferous 
trees, and their perfect distinctions, consult our Mr. Ray's most elaborate 
and useful work, where all that can be expected or desired, concerning 
this profitable, as well as beautiful tree, is amply set down. Hist. Plant, 
lib. XXV. cap. i, 

5. I am assured, by a person most worthy of credit, that in the terri- 
tory of Elsasz, (a country in Germany where they were miserably dis- 
tressed for wood, which they had so destroyed, as that they were reduced 
to make use of straw for their best fuel,) a very large tract being newly 
ploughed, (but the wars surprising them they did not sow,) there sprung 
up the next year a whole forest of Pine-trees, of which sort of wood 
there was none at all within less than fourscore miles ; so as it is verily 
conjectured by some, the winged seeds might be wafted thither from the 
country of Weteravia, which is the nearest part to that where they grow. 
If this be true, we are no more to wonder how, when our Oak-woods 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



301 



are grubbed up, Beech, and trees of other kinds have frequently sue- CH. XXll. 
ceeded them. What some impetuous winds have done in this nature, I '"y-"^ 
could produce instances almost miraculous. I shall say nothing of the 
opinion of our Master Varro, and the learned Theophrastus *, who were » oe causis, 
both of faith, that the seeds of plants dropped out of the air. Pliny, ' -i- cap. v. 
in book xvi. chap, xxxiii. upon discourse of the Cretan Cypress, attributes 
much to the indoles and nature of the soil, virtue of the climate, and im- 
pressions of the air. And indeed it is very strange, what is affirmed of that 
pitchy rain, reported to have fallen about Cyrene, the year 430, V. C. 
after which, in a short time, sprung up a whole wood of the trees of 
Laserpitium, producing a precious gum, not much inferior to Benzoin, ^ 
if at least the story be warrantable. But these aerial irradiations, various 
conceptions, and equivocal productions without seed, &c. are difficulties 
to be solved by our philosophers ; also whence those leaves of the Platan 
come, which Dr. Spon tells us, in his Travels, are found floating in some 
of the fountains of the isles of the Strophades, no such tree growing near 
them by thirty miles : Though these may haply be conveyed through 
some unknown subterranean passage ; for were it by the wind, the leaves 
being very large, they would be seen flying in, or falling out of the air. 

6. In transplanting of these coniferous trees, which are generally resi- 
naceous, viz. Fir, Pine, Larix, Cedar, and which have but thin and single 
roots, you must never diminish their heads, nor be at all busy with their 
roots, which pierce deep, and is all their foundation, unless you find any 
of them bruised, or much broken ; therefore such down-right roots as 
you may be forced to cut off, it were safe to sear with an hot iron, and 
prevent the danger of bleeding, to which they are obnoxious even to de- 
struction, though unseen and unheeded. Neither may you disbranch 
them, but with great caution, as about March, or before, or else in Sep- 
tember, and then it is best to prune up the side-branches close to the 
trunk, cutting off all that are above a year old ; if you suffer them too 
long, they grow too big, and the cicatrice will be more apt to spend the 
tree in gum ; upon which accident, I advise you to rub their wounds 
over with a mixture of cow-dung ; the neglect of this cost me dear, so 
apt are they to spend their gum. Indeed, the Fir and Pine seldom out- 
live their being lopped. Some advise us to break the shells of Pines, to 
facilitate their delivery, and I have essayed, but to my loss • Nature does 
obstetricate and do that office of herself, when it is the proper season. 



302 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. 7. The domestic Pine grows very well with us, both in mountains and 
-^"-^-r^"^ plains. But the Pinaster, or wilder, of which there are four sorts, is best 
for walks, pulcherrima in hortis, as already we have said, because it grows 
piKASTER. tall and proud, maintaining its branches at the sides, which the other 
Pine does less frequently. There is in New England a very broad Pine, 
which increases to a wonderful bulk and magnitude, insomuch that large 
canoes have been excavated out of the body of it, without any addition. 
But besides these large and gigantic Pines, there is the Spinet, with sharp 
thick bristles, yielding a resin or liquor odorous, and useful in carpentry 
work. 

8. The Fir grows tallest, being planted reasonably close together, but 
suffers nothing to thrive under it. The Pine not so inhospitable ; for, 
by Pliny's good leave, it may be sown with any tree, all things growing 
well under its shade, and excellent in woods : Hence Claudian, 

Et comitevn quercum Pinus arnica trahit 
The friendly Pine the mighty Oak invites. 

9. They both affect the cold, high, and rocky grounds, Ahles in montibus 
altis. Those yet which grow on the more southern and less exposed 
quarters, a little visited with the beams of the sun, are found to thrive 
beyond the other, and to afford better timber ; and this was observed 
long since by Vitruvius of the Infernates, as he calls them, in comparison 

; with the Supernates ; which, growing on the northern and shady side of 
the Apennines, were nothing so good, which he imputes to the want of 
due digestion. They thrive, as we said, in the most sterile places, yet 
will grow in better, but not in over-rich and pinguid. The worst land 
in Wales bears, as I am told, large Pine ; and the Fir, according to its 
aspiring nature, loves also the mountain more than the valley ; but it 
cannot endure the shade, as Theophrastus observes, de PI. lib. iv. cap. i. 
But this is not rigidly true, for they will grow in consort, till they even 
shade and darken one another ; and will also descend from the hills, and 
succeed very well, being desirous of plentiful waterings till they arrive 
to some competent stature ; and therefore they do not prosper so well in 
an over-sandy and hungry soil or gravel, as in the very entrails of the 
rocks, which afford more drink to the roots that penetrate into their 
meanders and winding recesses. But though they require this refreshing 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



303 



at first, yet do they perfectly abhor all stercoration ; nor will they much CH. XXII. 
endure to have the earth opened about their roots for ablaqueation, ^— '"N'"^ 
or be disturbed : This is also to be understood of Cypress. A Fir, for 
the first half-dozen years, seems to staqd, or at least make no considerable 
advance ; but it is when thoroughly rooted, that it comes away miracu- 
lously. That honourable and learned knight. Sir Norton Knatchbull, 
whose delicious plantation of Pines and Firs I beheld with great satisfac- 
tion, has Jissured me, that a Fir-tree of his raising, did shoot no less than 
sixty feet in height in little more than twenty years. The same speedy 
growth may be observed in the trees belonging to Sir Peter Wentworth 
at Lillingston-Lovel ; Cornbury in Oxfordshire ; and other places • but 
especially those in Harefield-park, in the county of Middlesex, belonging 
to Mr. Serjeant Nudigate, where there are two Spanish, or Silver Firs, that, 
being planted there anno 1603, at two years' growth from the seed, are now 
(1679) become goodly masts: The biggest of them, from the ground to the 
upper bough, is eighty-one feet, though forked on the top, which has not 
SL little impeded its growth ; The girt or circumference below is thirteen 
feet, and the length, so far as is timber, that is, to six inches square, seventy- 
three feet ; in the middle seventeen inches square^ amounting by calcula- 
tion to one hundred and forty-six feet of good timber. The other tree is 
indeed not altogether so large, by reason of its standing near the house 
when it was burnt, about forty years since, when one side of the tree 
was scorched also ; yet it has not only recovered that scar, but thrives 
exceedingly, and is within eight or nine feet as tall as the other, and 
would probably have been the better of the two, had not that impedi- 
ment happened, it growing so taper and erect, as nothing can be more 
beautiful. This, I think, if we had no other, is a pregnant instance, 
as of the speedy growing of that material, so of all the encourage- 
ment I have already given for the more frequent cultivating this orna- 
mental, useful, and profitable tree, abounding, doubtless, formerly in this 
country of ours, if what a grave and authentic author writes be true ; 
Athen£eus * relating, that the stupendous vessel, built so many ages * Deipnosoph, 
since by Hiero, had its mast out of Britain. Take notice, that none of 
these mountainous trees should be planted deep, but as shallow as 
may be for their competent support. 

10, The Picea, already described, grows on the Alps among the Pine, picea. 
but neither so tall nor so upright, but bends its branches a little, which 



304 



A DISCOURSE 



HOOK I. h^^ve the leaf quite about them, short and thick, not so flat as the Fir. 

••""Y^^ The cones grow at the point of the branches, and are much longer than 
most other cones, containing a small darkish seed. This tree produces 
gum almost as white and firm as frankincense : But it is the Larix 
(another sort of Pine) that yields the true Venetian turpentine, of which 
hereafter. 

11. There is also the Piceaster, a wilder sort, the leaves stiff and 
narrow-pointed, and not so close, out of which the greatest store of pitch 
is boiled. The Tssda likewise, which is, as some think, another sort 
abounding in Dalmatia, more unctuous, and more patient of the warmer 
situations, and so inflammable, that it will slit into candles ; and there- 
fore some will by no means admit it to be of a different species, but a 
metamorphosis of overgrown fattiness, to which the most judicious in- 
cline. But of these, the Grand Canaries and all about the mountains 
near Teneriff, are full, where the inhabitants do usually build their houses 
with the timber of the Pitch-tree. They cut it also into wainscot, in 
which it succeeds marvellously well ; abating that it is so obnoxious to 
firing, that whenever a house is attacked they make all imaginable haste 
out of the conflagration, and almost despair of extinguishing it. They 
also use it for candle-wood, and to travel in the night by the light of it, 
as we do by links and torches. Nor do they make these Teas, as the 
Spaniards call them, of the wood of Pine alone, but of other trees, as of 
Oak and Hasel, which they cleave and hack, and then dry in the oven 
or chimney, but have certainly some unctuous and inflammable matter 
in which they afterwards dip it : And thus they do in Biscay, as I am 
credibly informed. 

12. The bodies of these being cut, or burnt down to the ground, will 
emit frequent suckers from the roots ; but so will neither the Pine nor 
Fir, nor indeed care they to be topped. But the Fir may be propagated 
of layers and cuttings, which I divulge as a considerable secret that has 
been essayed with success \ 



s The Rev. Mr. Cordiner, in his " Antiquities of the North of Scotland," confirms what 
Mr. Evelyn has here remarked. Speaking of Mar Forest, he says, " I long admired one 
" very noble Pine with various tops ; it exliibited an uncommon appearance. The branches 



7 



OF FOREST-TREES. 305 

IS. That all these, especially the Fir and Pine, will prosper well with cH. xxn. 
us is more than probable ; because it is a kind of demonstration, that they 
did heretofore grow plentifully in Cumberland, Cheshire, Staffordshire, 
and Lancashire, if the multitudes of these trees to this day found entire, 
and buried under the earth, though supposed to have been overtlirown, 
and covered so ever since the universal deluge, he indeed of this species. 
Dr. Plot speaks of a Fir-tree in Staffordshire of one hundred and fifty 
feet high, which some think of spontaneous growth, besides several more 
so irregularly standing, as shews them to be natives. But to put this at 
last out of controversy, see the extract of Mr. de la Prim's letter to the 
Royal Society, l^ansactions, No. 277, and the old map of Croul, 
and of the yet, or lately remaining, Firs growing about Hatfield in the 
commons, flourishing from the shrubs and stubs of those trees, to which 
I refer the reader. As for buried trees of this sort, the late Dr. Merrett, 
in his Pinax, mentions several places of this nation where subterraneous 
trees are found ; as, namely, in Cornwall, ad jinem terr<e, in agris Flints ; 
and in Pembrokeshire, towards the shore, where they so abound, ut totum 
littus (says the Doctor) tajiquam silva cwdua apparet; they are also found 
in Cheshire, Cumberland, and Anglesey, and in several of our Euro- 
boreal tracts, where they are called Noah's Ark. By Chatnesse, in Lan- 
cashire, says Camden, the low mossy ground was no very long time since 
carried away by an impetuous flood, and in that place now lies a low 
irriguous vale, where many prostrate trees have been dug out. And from 
another I receive, that in the moors of Somersetshire, towards Bridge- 
water, some lengths of pasture growing much withered, and parched more 
than other places of the same ground, in a great drought, it was observed 
to bear the length and shape, in gross, of trees they dug, and found in 
the spot Oaks as black as Ebony, and have been from hence instructed 
to take up many hundreds of the same kind. In a fenny tract of the 
Isle of Axholme, lying part in Lincolnshire, and part in Yorkshire^ have 



suhtehra- 
nean trees. 



" of prodigious size, and most irregularly wreathed, seemed to bend under their weight 
" of timber : one of them had reached the ground, taken root, and for many years drew 
" nourishment from the new stock, which also reared an additional tree : but either 
" through the increasing strength and elasticity of the parent branch, or loosened by some 
" violent agitation of the great stiem of the tree, the large new roots have been torn from 
" the soil, and now hang suspended a great way from the ground, with other branches 
" darting from them." 

Volume I. Z z 



306 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. been found Oaks five yards in compass, and fifteen in length, some of 
-^^f^^ them erect, and standing- as they grew, in firm earth below the moors, 
with abundance of Fir, which lie more stooping than the Oak, some 
being thirty-six yards long besides the tops. And so great is the store of 
these subterraneans, as the inhabitants have for divers years carried away 
above two thousand cart-loads yearly : See " Dugdale's History of 
Draining." This might be of good use for the like detections in Essex, 
Lincolnshire, and places either low situate, or adjacent to the sea ; also 
at Binfield-heath in Kent, &c. These trees were (some think) carried 
away, in times past, by some accident of inundation, or by waters under- 
mining the ground, till their own weight and the winds bowed them 
down, and overwhelmed them in the mud : For it is observed, that these 
trees are no where found so frequently as in boggy places. But that the 
burning of these trees so very bright, should be an argument that they 
were Fir, is not necessary, since the bituminous quality of such earth 
may be imparted to them. There are in Cumberland, on the sea-shore, 
trees sometimes discovered at low-water, and at other times, that lie 
buried in the sand ; and in other mossy places of that country, it is re- 
ported the people frequently dig up the bodies of vast trees without 
boughs, and that by direction of the dew alone in summer ; for they ob- 
serve it never lies upon that part under which those trees are interred. 
These particulars I find noted by the ingenious author of the Britannia 
Baconica. How vast a forest, and what goodly trees were once standing 
in Holland, and those low countries, till about the year 860, when an 
hurricane obstructing the mouth of the Rhine, near Catwic, made that 
horrid devastation, good authors mention. And they do this day find 
monstrous bodies and branches, (nay, w ith the very imts, most entire,) of 
prostrate and buried trees, near to Veer, especially towards the south, 
and at the bottom of the waters : Also near Bruges, in Flanders, whole 
woods have been found twenty ells deep, in which the trunks, boughs, 
and leaves do so exactly appear, as to distinguish their several species, , 
with the series of their leaves yearly falling : Of which see Boetius de 
Boot. 

Dr. Plot, in his Natural History of Oxfordshire and Staffordshire, men- 
tions divers subterraneous Oaks, black as Ebony, and of mineral substance 
for hardness, quite through the whole substance of the timber, caused, 
as he supposes, and learnedly evinces, by a vitriolic humour of the earth, 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



307 



of affinity to the nature of the ink-galls which that kind of tree produces, qh xxii 
Of these he speaks of some found sunk under the ground, in an upright '-^■v*^ 
and growing posture, to the perpendicular depth of sixty feet, of which one 
was three feet in diameter, of an hardness emulating the politest Ebony. 
These trees had none of them their roots, but were found plainly to have 
been cut off by the kerf. There were great store of Hasel-nuts, whose 
shells were as sound as ever, but no kernel within. It is there the inqui- 
sitive author gives you his conjecture how these deep interments hap- 
pened ; namely, by our ancestors, many ages since, clearing the ground 
for tillage, and, when wood was not worth converting to other uses, dig- 
ging trenches by the sides of many trees, in which they buried some, and 
others they flung into quagmires and lakes to make room for more pro- 
fitable agriculture. In the mean time, concerning this mossy wood, as 
they usually term it, because, for the most part, dug up in mossy and 
moory bogs where they cut for turf, it is highly probable, with the learned 
Mr. Ray, that these places were, many ages since, part of firm land 
covered with wood, afterwards undermined and overwhelmed by the 
violence of the sea, and so continuing submerged till the rivers brought 
down earth and mud enough to cover the trees, filling up the shallows, 
and restoring them to Terra Firma again : this he illustrates from the like 
accident upon the coast of Suffolk, about Dunwich, where the sea conti- 
nues at this day, as for many years past, to encroach upon the land, un- 
dermining and subverting by degrees a great deal of high ground, so as 
by ancient writings it appears a w^hole wood of more than a mile and a 
half, at present is so far within the sea. Now, if, in succeeding ages, as 
it is probable enough, the sea shall by degrees be filled up, either by its 
own working, or by earth brought down by land-floods, still subsiding to 
the bottom and surmounting the tops of these trees, and so the space 
added again to the firm land, the men that shall then live in those parts 
will, it is likely, dig up these trees, and as much wonder how they came 
there, as w^e do at present those w^e have been speaking of. 

In the mean time, to put an end to the various conjectures concerning 
the causes of so many trees being found submerged, for the most part at- 
tributed to the destruction made by the Noatic inundation ; after all has 
been said of what was found in the level of Hatfield, drained at the never- 
to-be-forgotten charge and industry of Sir Cornelius Vermuiden, I think 
there will need no more inquiry. For there were discovered trees, not 

Z z 3 



308 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. only of Fir and Pitch, but of very goodly Oaks, even to the lengtii of 
one hundred feet, which were sold at fifteen pounds the tree, black and 
hard as Ebony ; all their roots remaining in the soil, and in their natural 
posture, with their bodies prostrate by them, pointing for the most part 
north-east : And of such there seemed to be millions of all the usual spe- 
cies natural to this country, sound and firm, Ash only excepted, which 
were become so rotten and soft, as to be frequently cut through with the 
spade only ; whereas Willows and other tender woods, continued very 
sound and entire. Many of these subterranean- trees, of all sorts, were 
found to have been cut and burnt down, squared and converted for 
several uses, into boards, pales, stakes, piles, bars, &c. Some trees half- 
riven, with the wedges sticking in them ; broken axe-heads, in shape of 
sacrificing instruments, and frequently several coins of the Emperor 
Vespasian, &c. There was, among others, one prodigious Oak of one 
hundred and twenty feet in length, and twelve in diameter, ten feet in 
the middle, and six at the small end ; so as, by computation, this mon- 
ster must have been a great deal longer ; and for this tree Avas offered 
twenty pounds. The truth and history of all this is so perfectly described 
by Abr. de la Pryme, inserted among the transactions of the Royal 
Society, ' that there needs no more to be said of it to evince that, not 



' " In many of these grounds, as well in England and Ireland, as in other parts of the 
world, there are found vast numbers of trees standing with their stumps erect, and their 
roots piercing the ground in a natural posture as when growing. Many of those trees are 
broken or cut off near the roots, and lie along, and this usually in a north-east dii'ection. 
People who have been willing to account for this, have usually resolved it into the eifect 
of the deluge in the days of Noah ; but this is a very wild conjecture, and is proved false 
by many unanswerable arguments. The waters of this deluge miglit indeed have washed 
together a great number of trees, and buried them imder loads of earth ; but then they 
would have lain irregularly and at random, whereas they all lie lengthwise from south- 
west to north-east, and the roots all stand in their natural perpendicular posture, as close 
as the roots of trees in a forest. Eeside, these trees are not all in their natural state, but 
many of them have the evident marks of human workmanship upon them, some being cut 
down with an axe, some split, and the wedges still remaining in them ; some burnt in dif- 
ferent parts, and some bored through with holes. These things are also proved to be of a 
later date than the deluge, by other matters found among them, such as utensils of ancient 
people, and coins of the Roman Emperors. It appears from the whole, that all the trees 
which we find in this fossile state, originally grew in the very places where we now find 
them, and have only been thrown down and buried there, not brought from elsewhere. It 
may appear indeed an objection to this opinion, that most of these fossile-trees are of the 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



309 



only here, but in other places where such trees are found in the like cir- CH. XXII. 
curnstances, it has been the work and effects of vast armies of the Ro- '-"•v^**^ 
mans, when finding they could not with all their force subdue the bar- 
barous inhabitants, by reason of their continual issuing out of those 
intricate fortresses and impediments, they caused whole forests to be cut 
down by their legions and soldiers, who were never suffered to remain 
idle during their winter-quarters, but were continually exercised in such 
public and useful works as required a multitude of hands ; by which 
discipline they became hardy, active, and less at leisure to mutiny, or 
corrupt one another. I do not affirm that this answers all submerged 
trees, but of very many imputed to other causes. 

But we shall inquire farther concerning these subterranean productions 
anon, and whether the earth, as well as the water, have not the virtue of 
strange transmutations. These trees are found in moors, by poking with 
staves of three or four feet long, shod with iron. 

13. In Scotland, as we noted, there is a most beautiful sort of Fir, or 
Pine rather, bearing small sharp cones, (some think it the Spanish Pinaster) 
growing upon the mountains ; of which, from the late Marquis of Argyll^ 



Fir kind ; and that Caesar says expressly, that no Firs grew in Britain in his time : but this 
is easily answered by observing, that these, though of the Fir kind, yet are not the species 
usually called the i^«V, but Pitch-tree ; and Caesar has no where said that Pitch-trees did 
not grow in England, Norway and Sweden yet abound with these trees; and there are 
at this time whole forests of them in many parts of Scotland, and a large number of them 
wild upon a hill at Wareton in Staffordshire to this day. In Hatfield-marsh, where such 
vast numbers of the fossil-trees are now found, there has evidently once been a whole forest 
of them growing. The last of these was found alive and growing in that place within 
seventy years last past, and cut down for some common use. It is also objected by some to 
the system of the Firs growing where they are found fossile, that these countries are all bogs 
and moors, whereas these sorts of trees grow only in mountainous places. But this is 
founded on an error ; for though in Norway and Sweden, and some other cold countries, 
the Fir kinds all grow upon barren and dry rocky mountains, yet in warmer places they 
are found to thrive as well on wet plains. Such are found plentifully in Pomerania, Li- 
vonia, and Courland, &c. ; and in the west parts of New England there are vast numbers 
of fine stately trees of them in low grounds. The whole truth seems to be, that these 
trees love a sandy soil ; and such as is found at the bottoms of all the mosses where these 
trees are found fossile. The roots of the Fir-kind are always found fixed in these ; and 
those of oaks, where they are found fossile in this manner, are usually found fixed in clay ; 



» 



310 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. I had some seeds sent me, which I have sown with tolerable success ; 

'"""s'^^ and I prefer them before any other, because they grow both very erect, 
and fixing themselves stoutly, need little or no support. Near Loch- 
broom, betwixt the loch and a hill, they grow in such quantity, that, 



so that each kind of tree is always found rooted in the places where they stand in their 
proper soil ; and there is no doubt to be made but that they originally grew there. When 
we have thus found that all the fossile trees we meet with once grew in the places where 
they are now buried, it is plain that in these places there were once notable forests, which 
have been destroyed at some time ; and the question only remains how and by whom they 
were destroyed. This we have reason to believe, by the Roman coins found among them, 
was done by the people of that empire, and that at the time when they were established 
or establishing themselves here. Their own historian tells us, that when their armies pur- 
sued the wild Britons, these people always sheltered themselves in the miry woods, and 
low watery forests. Caesar expressly says thisj and observes, that Cassibelan and his 
Britons, after their defeat, passed the Thames, and fled into such low morasses and woods, 
that there was no pursuing them : and we find that the Silures secured themselves in the 
same manner when attacked by Ostorius and Agricola. The same thing is recorded of 
Venutius, king of the Brigantes, who fled, to secure himself, into the boggy forests of the 
midland part of this kingdom : and Herodian expressly says, that in the time of the Romans 
pushing their conquests in these islands, it was the custom of the Britons to secure them- 
selves in the thick forests which grew in their boggy and wet places, and when opportu- 
nity offered to issue out thence, and fall upon the Romans. The consequence of all this 
was the destroying all these forests ; the Romans finding themselves so plagued with 
))arties of the natives isuing out upon them at times from these forests, gave orders 
fdr the cutting down and destroying all the forests in Britain which grew on boggy 
and wet grounds. These orders were punctually executed ; and to this it is owing that at 
this day we can hardly be brought to believe that such forests ever grew with us as are 
now found buried. The Roman histories all join in telling us, that when Suetonius 
Paulinus conquered Anglesea, he ordered all the woods to be cut down there, in the manner 
of the Roman generals in England: and Galen tells us, that the Romans, after their con- 
quest in Britain, kept their soldiers constantly employed in cutting down forests, draining 
of marshes, and paving of bogs. Not only the Roman soldiers were employed in this 
manner, but all the native Britons made captives in the wars were obliged to assist in it: 
and Dion Cassius tells us, that the Emperor Severus lost no less than 50,000 men in a few 
years' time in cutting down the woods and draining the bogs of this island. It is not to 
be wondered at, that such numbers executed the immense destruction which we find in 
these buried forests. One of the greatest subterranean treasures of wood is tliat near 
Hatfield ; and it is easy to prove, that these people, to whom this havock is thus attri- 
buted, were upon the spot where these trees now lie buried. The common road of the 
Romans out of the south into the north, was formerly from Lindum (Lincoln) to Segelochum, 
(Little Burrow upon Trent,) and from thence to Danum, (Doncaster,) where they kept a 
standing garrison of Crispinian horse. A little off on the east and north-east of their road, 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



311 



from the spontaneous fall, ruin, and decay of the trees lying across one CH. XXII. 



another to a man's height, partly covered with moss, and partly earth and 
grass, which rots, fills up, and grows again, a considerable hill has, in 
process of time, been raised to almost their very tops, which, being an ac- 



between the two last named towns, lay the borders of the greatest forest, which swarmed 
with wild Britons, who were continually making their sallies out, and their retreats into it 
again, intercepting their provisions, taking and destroying their carriages, killing their al- 
lies and passengers, and disturbing their garrisons. This at length so exasperated the 
Romans, that they were determined to destroy it ; and to do this safely and effectually, 
they marched against it with a great army, and encamped on a great moor not far from 
Finningly : this is evident from their fortifications yet remaining. There is a small town 
in the neighbourhood called Osterfield ; and as the termination Jleld seems to have been 
given only in remembrance of battles fought near the towns whose names ended with it, 
it is not improbable that a battle was fought here between all the Britons who inhabited 
this forest, and the Roman troops under Ostorius. The Romans slew many of the Britons, 
and drove the rest back into this forest, which at that time overspread all this low country. 
On this the conquerors taking advantage of a strong south-Avest wind, set fire to the Pitch- 
trees, of which this forest was principally composed ; and when the greater part of the 
trees were thus destroyed, the Roman soldiers and captive Britons cut down the remainder, 
except a few large ones, which they left standing as remembrances of the destruction of 
the rest. These single trees, however, could not stand long against the winds, and these 
falling into the rivers which ran through the country, interrupted their currents ; and the 
water then overspreading the level country, made one great lake, and gave origin to the 
mosses or moory bogs, v;hich were afterwards formed there, by the workings of the 
waters, the precipitation of earthy matter from them, and the putrefaction of rotten boughs 
and branches of trees, and the vast increase of water-moss and other such plants which 
grow in prodigious abundance in all these sorts of places. Thus were these burnt and 
felled trees buried under a new-formed, spongy, and watery earth, and afterwards found 
on the draining and digging through this earth again. Hence it is not strange that Roman 
weapons and Roman coins are found among these buried trees ; and hence it is, that 
among the buried trees some are found burnt, some chopped and hewn ; and hence it is, 
that the bodies of the trees all lie by their proper roots, and with their tops lying north- 
east, that is, in that direction in which a south-west wind would have blown them down : 
hence also it is, that some of the trees are found with their roots lying flat, these being not 
cut or burned down, but blown up by the roots afterwards when left single ; and it is not 
wonderful, that such trees as these should have continued to grow even after their fall, and 
shoot up branches from their sides which might easily grow into high trees." Phil. Trans, 
No. 275. 

By this system it is easily explained why the moor-soil is in some places two or 
three yards thicker than in others, or higher thari it was formerly, since the growing up 
of peat-earth or bog-ground is well known, and the soil added by overflowing of waters, 
is not a little. As the Romans were the destroyers of this great and noble forest, so 




312 



A DISCOURSE 



noOK r. cident of singular remark, I thought fit to mention. JBoth Fir and Pine 
(sociable trees) planted pretty near together, shred and dipt at proper 
seasons, make stately, noble, and very beautiful skreens and fences to 
protect Orange, INIyrtle, and other curious greens, from the scorching of 
the sun and ruffling winds, preferable to walls. See how to be planted 
and cultivated, with the dimensions of a skreen, in the rules for the de- 
fence of gardens, annexed to De la Quintin, No. xv. by Mr. Loudon 
and jMr. Wise. In the mean time, none of these sorts are to be mingled 
in the taller woods or copses, in which they starve one another, and lose 
their beauty. And now those who would see what innumerable trees 
of this kind Scotland produces, should consult the learned Sir Robert 
Slbbald. " 

14. For the many and almost universal use of these trees both sea and 
land will plead ; 



dant utile lignum 



Navigiis Pinos • georg. il. 

The useful Pine for ships ' 

Hence Papinius VI. Thebaid. calls it Audax Abies. They make our best 
masts, sheathing, scaffold-poles, &c. heretofore the Avhole vessel. It is 
pretty, saith Pliny, to consider that those trees, which are so much sought 



they wei'e pi-obably also of the several other ancient forests ; the ruins of which furnish us 
with the bog-wood of Staffordshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, and other counties. But as the 
Romans were not much in Wales, in the Isle of Man, or in Ireland, it is not to be supposed 
that forests cut down by these people gave origin to the fossile wood found there i but 
though they did not cut down these forests, others did : and the origin of the bog- 
wood is the same with them as with us. Holingshead informs us, that Edward I. being 
not able to get at the Welch, because of their hiding themselves in boggy woods, gave 
orders at length that they should all be destroyed by fire and by the axe ; and, doubtless, the 
roots and bodies of trees found in Pembrokeshire, under-ground, are the i-eraains of the 
execution of this order. The fossile wood in the bogs of the Island of Man is doubtless of 
the same origin, though we have not any accounts extant of the time or occasion of the 
forests there being destroyed ; but as to the fossile trees of the bogs of Ireland, Ave are 
expressly told, that Henry II. when he conquered that country, ordered all the woods to 
be cut down that grew in the low parts of it, to secure his conquests, by cutting away the 
places of resort of rebels. 



" Sibbaldi Scotia illustrata, sive Prodromus Histories Naturalise 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



313 



after for shipping, should most delight in the highest mountains, as if cH. XXri. 

they fled from the sea on purpose, and were afraid to descend into the ^-^V^i^ 

waters : Situs in excelso montium, ceu maria fugeret. With Fir we 

make all intestine works, as wainscot, floors, pales, balks, laths, boxes, 

and bellies for musical instruments in general ; nay, the ribs and sides 

of that enormous stratagem, the so famous Trojan Horse, were made 

of this material, if the Poet mistake not, 

III ' i ■ Sectaque intexunt Abiete costas. ^N. ii. 

. ■ ' The ribs with deal they fit. 

there being no material more obedient and ready to bend for such 
works. 

In Holland they receive their best masts out of Norway, and even as 
far as Muscovy, which are best esteemed, as consisting of long fibres 
without knots, but deal boards from the first ; and though Fir rots 
quickly in salt-water, it does not so soon perish in fresh ; nor do they yet 
refuse it in merchant-ships, especially the upper parts of them, because 
of its lightness. The true Pine was very highly commended by the an- 
cients for naval architecture, as not so easily decaying ; and we read that 
Trajan caused vessels to be built both of the true and spurious kind, well 
pitched, and overlaid with lead, which perhaps might hint our modern 
sheathing with that metal at present. Fir is exceedingly smooth to polish 
on, and therefore does well under gilding work, and takes black equally 
with the Pear-tree. Both Fir and Pine succeed well in carving, as for 
capitals, festoons, nay statues, especially being gilded, because of the 
easiness of the grain to work, and take the tool every way ; and he that 
shall examine it nearly will find that famous image of the blessed Virgin 
at Loretto, (reported to be carved by the hands of St. Luke,) to be made 
of Fir, as the grain easily discovers it. The Torulus, as Vitruvius terms 
it, and heart of deal, kept dry, rejecting the albumen and white, is ever- 
lasting ; nor does there any wood so well agree with the glew as it, or is 
so easy to be wrought. It is also excellent for beams, and other timber- 
work in houses, being both light and exceedingly strong, and therefore 
of very good use for bars and bolts of doors, as well as for doors them- 
selves, and for the beams of coaches ; a board of an inch and a half thick 
will carry the body of a coach with great ease, by reason of a natural 
spring w^hich it has, not easily violated. You shall find that of old they 
Volume L 3 A 



314 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. used it for carts and other carriages, also for piles to superstruct on in 
-^y^"^^ boggy grounds. Most of Venice and Amsterdam is built upon them, 
with so excessive charge, that the foundations of their houses, as somie 
report, cost as much as what is erected upon them, there being driven in 
no fewer than thirteen thousand six hundred and fifty-nine great masts of 
this timber under the new Stadt-house of Amsterdam. For scaffolding 
also there is none comparable to it ; and I am sure we find it an extra- 
ordinary saver of Oak, where it may be had at a reasonable price. I will 
not complain what an incredible mass of ready money is yearly exported 
into the northern countries for this sole commodity", which might all be 
saved were we industrious at home, or could have it out of Virginia, 
there being no country in the whole world stored with better ; they have, 
besides, another sort of wood, which they call Cypress, much exceeding 
either Fir or Pine for this purpose, being as tough and springy as Yew, 
and bending to admiration ; it is also lighter than either, and everlasting 
in wet or dry, so as I much wonder that we inquire no more after it. 
In a word, not only here and there a house, but whole towns and great 
cities are and have been built of Fir only ; not that alone in the north, as 
Moscow, &c. where the very streets are paved with it, (the bodies of the 
trees lying prostrate one by one in the manner of a raft,) but the re- 
nowned city of Constantinople, and, nearer home, Thoulouse in France, 
was, within little more than an hundred years, most of Fir, which is now 
wholly marble and brick, after eight hundred houses had been burnt, as 
it often happens at Constantinople — ^a place where no accident even of 
this devouring nature will at all move them to rebuild with more lasting 
materials. To conclude with the uses of Fir ; we have most of our pot- 
ashes of this wood, together with our torch, or funebral staves ; nay, and 
of old, spears of it, if we may credit Virgil's Amazonian combat : 

■ Cujus apertum 

Adversi longi transverberat abiete pectus. ^N. xi, 

. ■ She prest 

A long Fir spear through his exposed breast. 



^ Mr. Cox informs us, that in the city of Christiana alone, the capital of Norway, there 
are 136 privileged saw-mills ; and that the quantity of planks permitted to be cut amounts 
annually to 20,000,000 standard deals, twelve feet long, and one inch and a quarter thick. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



315 



Lastly, The very chips or shavings of deal boards are of other use than CH. XXII. 
to kindle fires alone : Thomas Bartholinus, in his Medicina Danorum, ^-■^'Y"^ 
Dissert, vii. where he disclaims the use of hops in beer as pernicious and 
malignant, and from several instances how apt it is to produce and usher 
in infections, nay plagues, &:c. would substitute in its place the shavings 
of deal boards, to give a grateful odour to the drink ; and how sovereign 
those resinous woods, the tops of Fir and Pines, are against the scorbut, 
gravel in the kidneys, &c. we generally find. It is in the same chapter 
that he commends also Wormwood, Marriibium, Chamelgeagnum, Sage, 
Tamarisk, and almost any thing rather than hops. The bark of the 
Pine heals ulcers ; "and the inner rind cut small, contused, and 
boiled in store of water, is an excellent remedy for burns and scalds, 
washing- the sore with the decoction, and applying the softened bark. — 
It is also sovereign against frozen and benumbed limbs. The distilled 
water of the green cones takes away the wrinkles of the face ; cloths 
dipped therein, and laid upon the skin, become a cosmetic not to be 
despised. The Pine or Picea, buried in the earth, never decays. From 
the latter transudes a very bright and pellucid gum ; hence we have like- 
wise resin. Also of the Pine are made boxes and barrels for dry goods ; 
and it is cloven into shingles (scandulse) for the covering of houses 
in some places. Hoops for wine-vessels, especially of the flexible wild 
Pine, are made of it ; not to forget the kernels, (this tree being always 
furnished with cones, some ripe, others green,) of such admirable use in 
emulsions ; and for tooth -pickers, even the very leaves are commended. 
In sum, they are plantations which exceedingly improve the air by their 
odoriferous and balsamic emissions, and for ornament create a perpetual 
spring where they are plentifully propagated. And if it could be proved 
that the Almug-trees,* recorded 1 Reg. x. 12. (whereof pillars for that • where 

111 111 Ti Lyiyi (viz. 

famous temple and the roA'al palace, harps, and psalteries, &c. were made,) 3 Kings x. 

12.) calls it 

were of this sort of wood, as some doubt not to assert, we should esteem dm^.r.-,™ 
it at another rate ; yet we know Josephus affirms they were a kind of others liffiin 
Pine-tree, though somewhat resembling the Fig-tree wood to appearance, 
as of a most lustrous candor. In 2 Chron. ii. 8. there is mention of 
Almug-trees growing in Lebanon ; and if so, methinks it should rather 
be, as Buxtorf thinks, a kind of Cedar ; (yet we find Fir also in the same 
period ;) for we have seen a whiter sort of it, even very white as well as 
red ; though some affirm it to be but the sap of it, as our cabinet-makers 
call it : I say there were both Fir and Pine-trees growing upon those 

3 A 2 



316 A DISCOURSE 

BOOK 1. mountains; and the learned Meibomius, in that curious treatise of his, 
'"^'y^^ De Fabrica Triirmium, shews that there were such trees brought out of 
India or Ophir. In the mean time, Mr. Purchas informs us that Dr. Dee 
writ a laborious treatise almost wholly on this subject, but I could never 
have the good hap to see it, wherein, as Commissioner for Solomon's 
timber, and like a learned architect and planter, he has summoned a jury 
of twelve sorts of trees ; namely, 1. The Fir ; 2. Box ; 3. Cedar ; 4. Cy- 
press ; 5. Ebony ; 6. Ash ; 7. Juniper ; 8. Larch ; 9. Olive ; 10. Pine ; 
11. Oak ; and 12. Sandal-trees, to examine which of them were this Almug, 
and at last seems to concur with Josephus in favour of Pine or Fir ; who 
possibly, from some ancient record or fragment of the wood itself, might 
learn something of it ; and it is believed that it was some material both 
odoriferous to the scent, and beautiful to the eye, and of fittest temper to 
refract sounds, besides its serviceableness for building ; all which pro- 
see piin. pcrtics arc in the best sort of Pine, or Thya, as Pliny calls it ; or perhaps 
xvT.' c^p!" xi! it was some other rare wood, of which the Eastern Indies are doubtless 
ophras?' hS" the best provided ; and yet I find that those vast beams which sustained 
!ii!"er'iib?'xi'v! the roof of St. Peter's church at Rome, laid, as reported, by Constantine 
''^ "^^n the Great, were made of the Pitch-tree, and have lasted from A. D. 336, 
lib. xxiv. cap. jjown to our days, above one thousand three hundred years. 



15. But now whilst I am reciting the uses of these beneficial trees, 
Mr. Winthorp presents the Royal Society with the process of making tar 
and pitch in New England, which we thus abbreviate. Tar is made out 
of that sort of Pine-tree from which naturally turpentine extilleth ; and 
which, at its first flowing out, is liquid and clear ; but, being hardened 
by the air, either on the tree or wherever it falls, is not much unlike 
the Burgundy-pitch ; and we call them Pitch-pines out of which this 
gummy substance transudes. They grow upon the most barren plains, 
on rocks also, and hills rising amongst those plains, where several are 
found blown down, which have lain so many ages, as that their whole 
bodies, branches, and roots have perished, some certain knots only of the 
boughs remaining entire, (these knots are that part where the bough 
is joined to the body of the tree,) and lying at the same distance and 
posture as they grew upon the tree for its whole length. The bodies 
of some of these trees are not corrupted through age, but quite consumed, 
and reduced to ashes by the annual burnings of the Indians when 
they set their grounds on fire, which yet has, it seems, no power over 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



317 



these hard knots beyond a black scorching, although, being laid on cH. XXIf. 
heaps, they are apt enough to burn. It is of these knots they make "'^-*~v^*«-> 
their tar in New England and the country adjacent, whilst they are well 
impregnated with that terebinthine and resinous matter, which, like a 
balsam, preserves them so long from putrefraction. The rest of the tree 
does indeed contain the like terebinthine sap, as appears, upon any slight 
incision of the bark on the stem or boughs, by a small crystalline pearl 
which will sweat out ; but this, for being more watery and indigested, 
by reason of the porosity of the wood, which exposes it to the impressions 
of the air and wet, renders the tree more obnoxious ; especially if it lie 
prostrate with the bark on, which is a receptacle for a certain intercuta- 
neous worm that accelerates its decay. They are the knots then alone 
which the tar-makers amass in heaps, carrying them in carts to some con- 
venient place not far off, where finding clay or loam fit for their turn, 
they lay an hearth of such ordinary stone as they have at hand : This 
they build to such a height from the level of the ground, that a vessel 
may stand a little lower than the hearth to receive the tar as it runs out. 
But first, the hearth is made wide, according to the quantity of knots to 
be set at once, and that with a very smooth floor of clay, yet somewhat 
descending, or dripping, from the extreme parts to the middle, and thence 
towards one of the sides, where a gullet is left for the tar to run out at. 
The earth thus finished, they pile the knots one upon another, after the 
very same manner as our colliers do their wood for charcoal, and of a 
height proportionable to the breadth of the hearth, and then cover them 
over with a coat of loam, or clay, which is the best, or, in defect of those, 
with the best and most tenacious earth the place will afford, leaving only 
a small spiracle at the top, whereat to put the fire in, and making some 
little holes round about, at several heights, for the admission of so much 
air as is requisite to keep it burning, and to regulate the fire by opening 
and stopping them at pleasure. The process is almost the same with 
that of making charcoal ; for when it is well on fire, the middle hole 
is also stopped, and the rest of the registers so governed as the knots 
may keep burning, and not be suffocated with too much smoke, whilst 
all being now thorough-heated, the tar runs down to the hearth, together 
with some of the more watery sap, which hasting from all parts towards 
the middle, is conveyed by the fore-mentioned gutter into the barrel or 
vessel placed to receive it. Thus the whole art of tar-making is no other 
than a kind of rude distillation per descensum, and might therefore be as 



318 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. vvell done in furnaces of large capacity, were it worth the expense. 

-'^'^-v'^ When the tar is now all melted out and run, they stop up all the vents 
very close, and afterwards find the knots made into excellent charcoal, 
preferred hy the smiths before any other whatsoever which is made of 
wood, and nothing so apt to burn out when their blast ceaseth ; neither 
do they sparkle in the fire as many other sorts of coal do ; so as, in defect 
of sea-coal, they make choice of this as best for their use^ and give 
greater prices for it. Of these knots likewise do the planters split out 
small slivers about the thickness of one's finger, or somewhat thinner, 
which serve them to burn instead of candles, giving a very good light. 
This they call candle-wood, and it is in much use in New-England and 
Virginia, and amongst the Dutch planters in their villages ; but for that 
it is something offensive, by reason of the much fuliginous smoke which 
cojnes from it, they commonly burn it in the chimney-corner, upon a flat 
stone or iron, except, occasionally, they carry a single stick in their hand 
as there is need of light to go about the house. It must not be conceived, 
by what we have mentioned in the former description of the knots, that 
they are only to be separated from the bodies of the trees by devouring 
time, or that they are the only materials out of which tar can be ex- 
tracted ; for there are in these tracts millions of trees which abound with 
the same sorts of knots, and full of tui-pentine fit to make tar : But the 
labour of felling these trees, and of cutting out their knots, would far 
^ exceed the value of the tar, especially in countries where workmen are so 

very dear : But those knots above-mentioned are provided to hand, with- 
out any other labour than the gathering only. There are sometimes 
found of those sort of Pine-trees, the lowest part of Avhose stems towards 
the root is as full of turpentine as the knots : and of these also may tar 
be made. But such trees being rarely found, are commonly preserved to 
split into candle-wood, because they will be easily riven out into any 
lengths and scantings desired, much better than the knots. There be, 
who pretend an art of fully impregnating the body of any living Pine- 
tree, for six or eight feet high ; and some have reported that such an art 
is practised in Norway. But, upon several experiments, by girdling the 
tree, as they call it, and cutting some of the bark round, and a little into 
the wood of the tree, six or eight feet distant from the ground, it has 
never yet succeeded. Whether the just season of the year was not ob- 
served, or what else omitted, were worth the disquisition, if at least there 
be any such secret amongst the Norwegians, Swedes, or any other nation. 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



319 



Of tar, by boiling it to a sufficient height, pitch is made ; and in some qu xxu 
places where resin is plentiful, a fit proportion of that may be dissolved in ^^^"^v^^^ 
the tar whilst it is boiling, and this mixture is soonest converted to pitch; 
but it is of somewhat a differing kind from that which is made of tar 
only, without other composition. There is a way, which some ship- 
carpenters in those countries have used, to bring the tar into pitch for any 
sudden use, by making the tar so very hot in an iron kettle, that it will 
easily take fire, which when blazing, and set in an airy place, they let 
burn so long, till, by taking out some small quantity for trial, being cold, 
it appears of a sufficient consistence : then by covering the kettle close, 
the fire is extinguished, and the pitch is made without more ceremony. 
There is a process of making resin also out of the same knots, by splitting 
them out into thin pieces, and then boiling them in water, which will 
educe all the resinous matter, and gather it into a body, which, when 
cold, will harden into pure resin. It is moreover to be understood, that 
the Fir, and most coniferous trees, yield the same concretes, lachrymee, 
turpentines, resins, hard, naval or stone, and liquid pitch, and tar for 
remedies against arthritic and pulmonic affections : These the chirurgeon 
uses in plasters, and they are applied to mechanic, and other innumerable 
purposes. From their fuliginous vapour, raised by burning, especially the 
resin, we have our lamp and printers' black. I am persuaded the Pine, 
Pitch, and Fir-trees in Scotland might yield his Majesty plenty of 
excellent tar, was some industrious person employed about the work. 
I wonder it has been so long neglected. 

Other processes for extracting of these substances may be seen in 
Mr. Ray's History of Plants, already mentioned, lib. xxix. cap. i. And 
as to pitch and tar, how they make it near Marseilles, in France, from 
the Pines growing about that city, see Philosophical Transactions, 
No. 243, p. 291, anno I696, very well worthy the transcribing, if what 
is mentioned in this chapter were at all defective. 

I had, in the former editions of the Silva, placed the Larix among the u a k i x. 
trees which shed their leaves in winter, as indeed it does, but not before 
there is almost immediate supply of fresh ; let it, therefore, from 
its similitude, stature, and productions, challenge rank among the 
coniferous. We raise it of seeds, and it grows spontaneously in Stiria, 
Carinthia, and other Alpine countries. The change of the colour of the 



320 



A DISCOURSE 



old leaf made an ignorant gardener of mine eradicate what I had brought 
up with much care, as dead : Let this, therefore, be a warning. The 
leaves are thin, pretty long, and bristly ; the cones are small, and grow 
irregular, as do the branches. It is a very beautiful tree. The ponder- 
ous branches bend a little, in which it differs from the Libanus Cedar, 
to which some would have it allied ; nor are any found in Syria. From 
the deep-wounded bark of this tree exudes the purest of our shop tur* 
pentines. From it also comes the drug Agaric. That it flourishes with 
us a tree of good stature, not long since to be seen about Chelmsford 
in EsseXj sufficiently reproaches our not cultivating so useful a material 
for many purposes, where lasting and substantial timber is required : For 
we read of beams of no less than an hundred and twenty feet in length, 
made out of this goodly tree, which is of so strange a composition that 
it will hardly burn : Et rohusta Larix igni impenetrabile lignum ; for 
so Csesar found it in a castle besieged by him. The story is recited 
at large by Vitruvius, lib. ii. cap. ix. ; but see what Philander says upon 
the place, on his own experience. Yet the coals thereof were held far 
better than any other for the melting of iron, and the lock-smith ; and, 
to say the truth, we find they burn it frequently as common fuel in the 
Valtoline, if at least it be the true Larix, which they now call Meleze. — 
There is abundance of this Larch timber in the buildings at Venice, 
especially about the palaces in Piazza San Marco, where I remember 
Scamozzi says he himself used much of it, and infinitely commends it. — 
Kor did they only use it in houses, but in naval architecture also. The 
ship mentioned by Witsen (a late Dutch writer of that useful art) to have 
been found not long since in the Numidian sea, twelve fathoms under 
water, was chiefly built of this timber and Cypress, both reduced to that 
induration and hardness, as greatly to resist the fire and the sharpest tool; 
nor was any thing perished of it, though it had lain above a thousand 
and four hundred years submerged. Tiberius, we find, built that famous 
bridge to his Naumachia with this wood ; and it seems to excel for 
beams, doors^ windows, and masts of ships ; it resists the worm. Being 
driven into the ground, it is almost petrified, and will support an 
incredible weight ; which, and for its property of long resisting fire, 
makes Vitruvius wish they had greater plenty of it at Rome to make 
joists of, where the forum of Augustus was (it seems) built of it, and 
divers bridges by Tiberius ; for thatj being attempted with fire, it is long 



OF FOREST-TREES. 



321 



in taking hold, growing only black without ; and the timber of it is so cH. XXI L 



exceedingly transparent, that in the dark night when cabins, made of the 
thin boards, have lighted candles in them, people who are at a distance 
without doors, would imagine the whole room to be on fire. The Larix 
bears polishing excellently well, and the turners abroad much desire it. 
Vitruvius says, it is so ponderous that it will sink in water. It makes 
everlasting spouts, pent-houses, and featheridge, which need neither 
pitch nor painting to preserve them ; also excellent pales, posts, rails ^ 
pediments, and props for vines. To these add the palettes on which our 
painters blend their colours. Before the use of canvas and bed-tick, it 
formed the tables on which the great Raphael, and the famous artists of 
the last age, eternized their skill. 



y I am in possession of the rail of a gate made of Larch, which withstood the weather, 
without the least decay, for upwards of twenty years, during which period the Oak posts 
were twice renewed. 



Volume L 3 B 



AN 



EXPLANATOHY TABLE 



OF THE 



Parts of FRUCTIFICATION of the different Species of Trees 

described in the SILVA. 

Obs. The Parts marked with a Capital Letter are magnified. 



The OAK. Quercus ( Robur.) 

MONOECIA POLYANDRIA. 

a. A Male Catkin. 

h. c. The Calyx. In some Flowers it is divided 

into four, in others into five segments. 
B. C. Ditto. 

d. An entire Flower. 

D. Ditto, shewing the situations of the Stamina. 

e. A single Stamen. 

E. Ditto. 

/. A Female Flower. 

F. Ditto. 

y. The Acorn, or Nut, as it sits in its permanent 
Calyx. 

//. Ditto, separated from the Calyx. 

i. The Cup, or permanent Calyx. 

The ELM. Ulmus ( Campestris.) 

Petandria Digynia. 

a. An entire Flower. 

B. Ditto. 

c. The Calyx. 

C. Ditto. 

d. The Stamina. . 

D. Ditto. 

e. The Pointal, or Female Part of the Flower. 

E. Ditto. 

/ The Seed. 

g. A Branch, at the time of flowering, which 
happens before the leaves appear* 

3 



The BEECH. Fagus (Sylvatica.) 
Monoecia Polyandria. 

a. A Catkin of Male Flowers. 

b. A single Flower. 

B. Ditto. 

c. The Calyx. 

C. Ditto. 

d. A Female Flower. 

e. The Calyx. 

/. The Germen, or Embryo, with its three 
Pointals. 

g. The two Embryos with their Pointals, as they 
sit in the Calyx. 

h. The permanent Calyx becomes a Capsule, or 
Seed-vessel. 

i. Ditto, as it opens at the top. 
k. The two Seeds. 

The HORNBEAM. Carpinus (Vulgaris.) 

Monoecia Polyandria. 

a. A Male Catkin. 

b. A Male Flower with its Scale. 

B. Ditto. 

c. The Scale. 

C. Ditto. 

D. The Stamina, 
e. The Female Catkin. 
/. The Female Flower with its Scale. 

F. Ditto. 

G. The Scale. 

B2 



324. 



THE TABLE OF 



h. The Petals. 

H. Ditto. • 

i. The two Pointals. 

I. Ditto. 

A-. The Petals grown larger, containing the two 

Seeds. 
I. One of the Seeds. 

The ASH. Fraxinm ( Excelsior^ } 

POLYGAMIA DiOECIA. 

a. An entire Hermaphrodite Flower. 

A. Ditto. The Flowers have neither Calyx 

nor Petals, and are only furnished with 
two Stamina. 

B. The two Stamina. 

c. The Emhryo, with its Pointal. 

C. Ditto. 

d. An entire Female Flower. 

D. Ditto. They likewise have neither Calyx, 

Petals, nor Stamina, bearing only a 
Pointal. 

e. A winged Seed. The Seeds of the Hermaphro- 

dite and Female Flowers are alike. 
/. The Crust opening to shew where the Seed is 

lodged. 
g. The Seed. 

The CHESTNUT. Fagus (Castanea.) 

MONOECIA POLYANDRIA. 

a. A Male Catkin. 

b. A single Flower. 

B. Ditto. 

c. The Calyx. 

C. Ditto. 

d. A Female Bud of Flowers. 

e. A single Flower. 
/. The Calyx. 

F. Ditto. 

g. A single Embryo, with its Pointals. 

G. Ditto. 

H. The two Embryos with their Pointals, set in 

their permanent Calyx, 
t. The spinous Capsule. 

k. The same, opening at the top to emit the Nuts 
or Seeds. 

I. A single Nut. 



The HORSE-CHESTNUT. jEsailus 
( Hippo-Castanum.) 

Heptandria Monogynia. 

a. An entire Flower. 

h. The Calyx. 

c. The five Petals. 

d. The Stamina. 

e. The Embryo, with its Pointal. 
/. The spinous Capsule. 

17. A Transverse Section of ditto, shewing the 

Partition and Receptacle, 
ft. Ditto, as it opens in thre? divisions. 

i. The Nuts or Seeds. 

The WALNUT, Juglans (Regia.) 

MoNOECIA POLYAKDRIA. 

a. A Male Catkin. 

h. Ditto, in its natural size. 

c. A single Male Flower. 

d. The Petals. 

e. The Stamina. 

E. A single Stamen. 
/. A Female Flower. 

g. Ditto, in its natural size. 

h. The Calyx. 

i. The Corolla. 

Tc. The Embryo, with its Pointals. 
I. The covering of the Shell. Drupa. 
m. The Nut, divested of its covering. 
n. Ditto, split open. 
Q. A Kernel. 

The WHITE BEAM-TREE. Cratagus 
( Aria.) 

ICOSANDBIA DiGYNIA, 

a. An entire Flower. 

b. The Calyx. 

c. The Petals, or Flower- Leaves. 

d. The Stamina. 

e. The Pointals. 

/. The Embryo, as it sits within the Calyx, with 

its Pointals. 
g. The Fruit, or Berry, 
ft. A Transverse Section of ditto. 



FRUCTIFICATION. 



325 



i, A vertical Section of ditto. 
k. The two Seeds. 



The WILD SERVICE. Crataegus 
( Torminalis.) 

ICOSANDRIA DiGYNIA. 

a. An entire Flower, 

A. Ditto. 

6. The Calyx, 

B. Ditto. 

c. The Petals. 

C. Ditto. 

d. The Stamina, 

D. Ditto. 

e. The Pointals. 

E. Ditto. 

/, The Fruit, or Berry. 

g. A Transverse Section of ditto. 

h. The Seeds. 

The WILD BLACK CHERRY. 
Prunus ( Cerasus.) 

ICOSANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 

a. The Calyx. 

b. An entire Flower. 

c. The Stamina. 

d. A single Stamen, 

D. Ditto. 

e. The Embryo, with its Pointal. 

E. Ditto. 

/. The Berry. 

g. A vertical Section of ditto. 

h. The Stone containing the Kernel. 



The MAPLE. Acer (Campestre.) 

POLYGAMIA MONOECIA. 

a. The Hermaphrodite Flowers growing on the 

same bunch with the Male Flowers / 
A. An Hermaphrodite Flower. 

b. The Calyx. 
e. The Petals. 



d. The Stamina. 

e. The Embryo, with its Pointal. 
E. Ditto. 

g. A Male Flower without the Staminjt, &c, 

G. Ditto. The Calyx, Petals, and Stamina, 
are the same as in the Hermaphrodite 
Flowers. 

ft. The two winged Seeds. 

i. One Wing cut open to shew the situation of 
the Seeds. 

h. A Se^d. 



The SYCAMORE. Acer 
( Pseudo-platanus. ) 

POLYGAMIA MONOECIA. 

B. The Hermaphrodite Flowers growing on the 
same bunch with the Male Flowers/. 

b. The Calyx. 

c. The Petals. 

d. The Stamina. 

E. The Embryo, with its Pointal. 
/. The Male Flowers. 

G. A Male Flower. The Petals and Stamina 

are the same as in the Hermaphrodite 
Flowers. 

H. A Male Flower without the Stamina, Sec. 
i. The two winged Seeds. 

k. One tf the Wings cut open to shew the situ? 
ation of the Seed. 

I. A Seed. 



The LIME. Tilia (Europoea.) 

POLYANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 

a. An entire Flower. 

b. The Calyx. 

c. The Petals. 

d. The Stamina. 

e. The Embryo, with its Pointal. 

E. Ditto, with one Stamen and one Petal. 

/. The Capsule. 

g. A Transverse Section of ditto. 

ft. The Capsule, as it opens below. 

i. The Seed. 

ft. A Bractea, or Floral Leaf, 



326 



THE TABLE OF 



TIic WHITE POPLAR. (Populus Alba.) 

DlOECIA OCTANDEIA. 

a. A Male Catkin. 

h. An entire Male Flower. 

B. Ditto. 

c. The Scale, or Squama. 

d. The Nectarium. 

D. Ditto. 

E. A Single Stamen. 
/. The Female Catkin. 
</. The Female Flower. 
G. Ditto. 

h. The Squama, or Scale. 

I. The Embryo, with its quadrifid Stigiua. 

K. The Stigma. 

/. The Capsule, or Seed-vessel. 

L. Ditto. 

m. Ditto, discharging its Seed. 
M. Ditto. 
71. The Seeds. 
N. Ditto. 

0. The Nectarium of the Female Flower. 
O. Ditto. 

The QUICK-BEAM. (Surhus ) Aucuparia, 

ICOSANDUIA TkIGVNIA. 

a. An entire Flower. 

A. Ditto. 

h. The Calyx. 
B- Ditto; 

c. The five Petals, or Flower-Leaves. 

C. Ditto. 

d. The Stamina. 

D. Ditto. 

e. The Embryo, with its three Stigmata. 

E. Ditto. 

/. The Fruit, or Berry. 

g. A Transverse Section of ditto. 

h. The three Seeds. 

The HASEL. Corylus ( Avellana.) 

MONOECIA POLYANDRIA. 

a. A Male Catkin. 

h. A single Male Flower. 

B. Ditto. 



c. The Stamina. 

C. Ditto. 

D. A single Stamen. 

e. The Female Flowers. 

E. Ditto. 

/. Two lacerated Scales that enclose the Embryo 
with its two Pointals. 

F. Ditto. 

g. The Embryo, as it sits in the two Scales. 

G. Ditto. 

h. The Embryoi 

H. Ditto. 

i. The Nut. 

k. A vertical Section of ditto. 

I. The Kernel. 

The BIRCH. Betula ( Alba. ) 

MoNOECIA TeTKANDEIA. 

a. The Male Catkin. 

b. The Calyx, consisting of three Scales con- 

taining three Flowers. 

B. Ditto. 

C. The three Flowers with their three Scales. 

D. A single Flower. 

E. Its four Segments. 

F. The Stamina. 

g. The Female Catkin. 

h. The Calyx, consisting of three Scales, each 

Scale containing two Embryos, 
tt. Ditto. 

i. The Embryo, with its two Pointals. 
I. Ditto. 

k. The three Scales, each Scale containing two 

Seeds. 
K. Ditto. 
/. A Seed. 
L. Ditto. 

The ALDER. Betula (Alnus.) 

MoNOECiA Tetrandria. 

a. The Male Catkin. 

b. The Calyx, consisting of four Scales which 

contain three Flowers. 

B. Ditto. 

C. The three Flowers. 

D. A single Flower. 



FRUCTIFICATION. 



327 



E. The Petals. 

F. The Stamina, 

g. A Female Catkin. 

h. The Calyx, consisting of three Scales, each 

Scale containing two Embryos. 

H. Ditto. 

i. The Embryo, with its two Pointals, 

I. Ditto. 

K. The Cone, or Fruit, 

L, The three Scales, each containing two Seeds. 
m- A Seed. 
M. Ditto. 



The CRACK WILLOW. Salix 
( Fragilis.) 

DiOECIA DiANDRIA, 

a. The Male Catkin growing on a different Tree 
from the Female. 

h. A Male Flower. 

B. Ditto, with its Nectarium c, and two Sta- 
mina d. d. 
E, The Scale and Nectarium. 
/. The Female Catkin. 
g. A Female Flower. 

G. Ditto. 

H. The Embryo, 

i. The Capsule. 

I. Ditto. 

K. A Transverse Section of ditto, 
L. As it bursts to emit the Seed. 
M. A Seed. 



The SCOTCH FIR. Pinus (Sylvestris.) 

MONOECIA MONODELPHIA. 

a. A Male Catkin. 

h. The Gem, or Winter-Lodge (Hibernaculum.) 

c. The Scale, or Squama. 

d. A Cluster of Stamina. 

D, Ditto. 

e. A single Stamen. 

E. Ditto, with its Scale c. ■ 
/. The future Cone. 

g, ^ single Scale of the Cone, with its two 

Embryos. 
G. Ditto. 



H. A single Embryo. 
i. The Cone. 

h. The same opened to shew how the Seeds are 
lodged. 

I. The inner Side of a Scale. 
m. The two winged Seeds. 

The WEYMOUTH PINE. Finus 
( Strohus.) 

MoNOEClA MONODELPHIA. 

a. The Gem, or Winter-Lodge (Hibernaculum.) 
6. The Male Catkin. 

C. A single Stamen, with its Scale. 

D. The Scale. 

E. A single Stamen. 

/. The immature Cone. 

g. A single Scale of ditto, with its two Embryos. 

G. Ditto. 

H. A single Embryo, with its Pointal. 

i. A Cone, 

k. A single Scale, with its two winged Seeds. 

I. A Seed, 

The SILVER FIR. Pinus (Picea.J 

MONOECIA MoNODELPHIA, 

a. The Gem, or Winter^Lodge (Hibernaculum.) 

b. A Male Catkin. 

C, A single Stamen, with its Scale, 

D, The Scale, 

E, A Stamen, 

/. The Female Catkin, or future Cone. 
g. A single Scale, with its two Embryos. 

G, Ditto. 

H, A single Embryo, with its Pointal, 
i. The Cone, 

7c. A single Scale, with its two winged Seeds. 

I, A single Seed, 

The SPRUCE FIR. Pinus (Abies.) 

MoNOECIA MONODELPHIA. 

a. A Catkin of Male Flowers. 

b. A single Stamen, 
B, Ditto. 

c. The future Cone. 



328 



THE TABLE OF 



d. A single Scale, with its two Embryos. 

D. Ditto. 

e. The Embryo, with its Pointal. 

E. Ditto. 

/. The Cone. 

g. A single Scale, with its two winged Seeds. 
/(. A Seed. 

The LARCH. Pinus (Larix.) 

MONOECIA MONODELPHIA. 

a. A Male Flower. 

b. The Calyx. 

<;. The Calyx, shewing the situation of the 

Stamina. 
C. A single Stamen. 

d. The Female Flowers, or immature Cone* 

e. A single Scale, with its two Embryos. 

E. Ditto. 

/. A single Embryo, with its Pointal. 

F. Ditto. 

g. A Cone. 

h. A single Scale, with its two w^inged Seeds. 
H. Ditto. 

N. B. This figure is the American Larch. 

The MULBERRY. Mams (Nigra.) 

MoNOEciA Teteandeia. 

a. A Male Catkin. 

B. The Calyx. 

c. A Male Flowef . 

C. Ditto. 

D. One Stamen, 
e. A Female Catkin. 
/. A Femak Flowei*. 

F. Ditto. 

G. The Calyx. 

H. The Embryo, with its two Stigmata. 
». The Fruit, consisting of many Berries* 
ft. A single Berry. 

I. A Seed. 
L. Ditto. 

The CEDAR. Pinus (Cedrus.) 

MoNOECIA MONODELPHIA. 

a. A Male Catkin. 

b. A single Scale, with its Stamen. 



B. A single Scale, with its Stamen. 

c. The future Cone. 

d. A single Scale of the Cone, with its two 

Embryos; 

D. Ditto. 

e. A single Embryo, with its Pointal. 

E. Ditto. 

/. The Cone. 

g. A single Scale, with its two winged Seeds. 

h. A single Seed. 

The ORIENTAL PLANE. Platanus 
( Orienlalis. ) 

MoNOECIA PoLYANDEIA. 

a. A globular Catkin of Male Flowers. 

b. The Calyx. 

B. Ditto. 

c. The entire Flower. 

C. Ditto. 

d. The Petals. 

D. Ditto. 

E. The Stamina. 

F. A single Stamen. 

g. A globular Bunch of Female Flowers- 

h. The Calyx. 

H. Ditto. 

t. An entire Flower. 

I. Ditto. 

k. The Petals. 
K. Ditto. 

L. The Embryo, with its Pointal. 
m. The globular Cluster of Seeds. 
n. The Receptacle to which the See aJe 

affixed. 
O. A Seed. 

The OCCIDENTAL PLANE. Platmms 

( Occidentalis.) 

MoNOECIA POLYAKDRIA. 

a. A globular Cluster of Male Flowers. 

b. The Calyx. 

B. Ditto. 

c. An entire Flower. 

C. Ditto. 

d. The Petals. 

D. Ditto. 



FRUCTIFICATION. 



329 



E. The Stamina. 

F. A single Stamen. 

g. A globular Bunch of Female Flowers. 

h. The Calyx. 

H. Ditto. 

i. An entire Female Flower. 

I. Ditto. 
k. The Petals. 
K. Ditto. 

L. The Embryo, with its Pointal. 
m. The globular Cluster of Seeds, 
n. The Receptacle to which the Seeds are 
affixed. 

0. A Seed. 

The CORK-TREE. Quercus (Suber.) 

MONOECIA POLYANDRIA. 

a. A Male Catkin. 

b. c. The Calyx, in some quadrifid, and in some 

quinquefid, in the Male Flowers. 
B. C. Ditto. 

d. An entire Flower. 

D. Ditto. • 

e. A single Stamen. 

E. Ditto. 

/. The Female Flowers. 
g. A single Flower. 

G. Ditto. 

H. A vertical Section of ditto. 

1. The young Acorn, or Fruit. 

I. Ditto. 

K. A vertical Section of ditto. 

The STRAWBERRY-TREE. Arbutus 
( Unedo.J 

Decandria IMonogvnia. 

a. The Calyx. 
A. Ditto. 
6. The Corolla. 

Volume L 



c. The same cut open, to shew the situation of the 
ten Stamina. 

C. A single Stamen. 

d. The Embryo, with its Pointal, situated within 
the Corolla. 

D. Ditto. 

e. The Fruit. 

/. A transverse Section of ditto. 

g. A vertical Section of ditto. 

h. The Seeds. 

The YEW. Taxus (Baccaia.) 

DlOECIA MONODELPHIA. 

a. A Male Flower. 

A. Ditto. 

B. The Calyx. 

D. The Stamina. 

E. Two Stamina, one viewed in front, the other 
on the under side. 

/. The Female Flower. 

F. Ditto. 

G. The Calyx. 

I. The Embryo, with its Pointal. 
k. The Fruit or Berry. 
I. A vertical Section of ditto. 
m. The Seed. 

The HOLLY. Ilex ( Aquifbliutii.) 

Tetkaxpria Tetragynia. 

a. An entire Flower. 

b. The Calyx. 

c. The Petals. 

d. The Stamina. 

e. The Embryo. 
E. Ditto. 
/. The Berry. 

!j. A transverse Section of ditto, shewing the Con- ' 

ceptacle. 
h. The Seeds. 

H. A Seed. 

3 C 



THE TABLE OF, &c. 



TIk- hawthorn. Cratfegus (Oaya- 
cantha.) 



IcOSANUUlA DiGVNIA. 



n. An entire Flower. 
h. The Calyx. 



c. The Petals. 

d. The Stamina. 
D. One Stamen. 

e. The Embryo, with its Pointal. 

f. The three Pointals. 

g. The Berry, or Fruit. 

A. The Stone, containing the Kernel. 



EKD OF THE FIEST VOLUME. 



(Tnuiiiu,^ II licjH u?ul i>wis, JJig/i-Oiisi^ale, i\.-h.) 



